Weston James Earl McKennie (born August 28, 1998) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Serie A club Juventus and the United States national team. A versatile player, McKennie is capable of playing in a multitude of positions in midfield—mainly as a box-to-box or as a deep-lying defensive midfielder.
Coming through the youth system, McKennie began his senior club career at Bundesliga side Schalke 04. In 2017–18, he established himself as a first team player, playing 25 games in all competitions. After three seasons, McKennie moved to Italian champions Juventus on loan, with the deal becoming permanent in March 2021.
McKennie has represented the United States internationally at both the youth and senior levels. He made his senior debut in 2017 and has finished runner-up in the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup and won the inaugural 2021 CONCACAF Nations League.
McKennie is known for his versatility as a player. During his time at Schalke, McKennie played in numerous positions including in midfield, as a center-back, full-back, and even as a striker. However, he has primarily played as either a box-to-box midfielder or in a deeper-lying defensive role. During his time with Juventus, he has been used in several midfield positions, including as a wide midfielder, in a holding role, or even as a more offensive–minded central midfielder, known as the mezzala role in Italian soccer jargon.
McKennie's primary attributes are his defensive skills and work rate, as well as his ability to win back the ball. Furthermore, his passing allows him to dictate the flow of the game and push the ball forward from deep-lying positions in midfield. His ball-winning qualities, combined with his positioning, tactical intelligence, eye for goal from midfield, and ability to make late attacking runs into the box led Alberto Mauro of Il Messaggero to compare him to former Juventus midfielders Edgar Davids and Arturo Vidal; McKennie's technical ability was cited as an area in need of improvement, however. |
