He’s smiling, he’s balling, he’s Weston McKennie, the box-to-box midfielder at Juventus who has a love for Harry Potter and eating the worst kind of pizza you can imagine. Nonetheless, the 25-year-old is now in his third full season with the Italian Old Lady, and it’s safe to say he has earned the respect of the Juve faithful.
Currently one of the highest performing players at the club according to FootMob, McKennie continues to be a driving force in the midfield with his abilities to track back and run forward, but the American has become much better technically and tactically for Massimiliano Allegri.
In an interview with 8by8mag, McKennie opened up about his time at Juventus, where he has a contract until 2025, and there are talks of an extension, his ill-fated move to Leeds United, and coming back better and stronger in Serie A.
Weston McKennie on leaving Juventus and going to Leeds
In a shocking response on his move to the Premier League the American revealed that going to Leeds was more about challenging himself than just leaving Juventus where he felt things had become too complacent.
“Every player can get a little bit complacent and comfortable with what they’re doing, I think going to Leeds and having the experience I had there, I may have let some people down. I may have let some fans down who supported Leeds and believed in me.”
McKennie made only 19 appearances in the Premier League for the ill-fated Leeds team, he was bashed on social media over his weight and his performances were sub-par, then again Leeds United was a mess most of the season as McKennie was exposed too often, he was not around the caliber of players he has at Juventus.
“At the end of the day, when I get older and it’s my time to go, how many of those people are going to be there with me?”
“When I left Leeds, I knew I had a bad showing,” he explains. “I knew I didn’t have the time that I thought I was going to have or that maybe I should have had. It put me in a mindset that when I came back here to Juventus, I was starting brand new. I’m going back to Juventus like it’s my first time. I have to prove myself all over again.”
Upon his return to Juventus in the summer the brass at the club sought a move for the American, but a champion of McKennie held firm and gave him a chance during preseason, that champion is his manager, Massimiliano Allegri.
By the time preseason was over, McKennie had once again won over Allegri. “Wes is maturing after his experience on loan. He has a physical strength that helps cover up for the occasional technical error, but when he runs into space he can be devastating”, Allegri stated back in November.
Weston McKennie on Italy
Now almost fluent in Italian, the Fort Lewis, Washington native has played professional soccer in three of the world’s top leagues, Germany, England, and Italy. Still McKennie gets egged by his teammates and media for his unique way of eating a traditional Italian pasta dish.
“I love Italy,” he says. “It’s a beautiful place. I love the people. But obviously Italy is very big on tradition, and anyone that’s outside of that is looked on as ‘Oh my God.’ If I go out in public wearing some sweats and some slides, a hoodie that doesn’t match, people look at me like, ‘What are you doing?’
“With the food, it’s whenever I put chicken inside my pasta, when I put pesto pomodoro and then put a little chicken inside with spicy olive oil, cheese, and salt. It’s funny, because all the non-Italian people here love it and eat it, then all the Italian people look at you like, ‘Ooh, ma che schifo!’” — “How gross!”