Juventus should keep Weston McKennie permanently

Juventus have found a reliable midfielder in Weston McKennie, who has the potential to develop into so much more.

This summer, Juventus had their eyes on Barcelona’s young midfielder Arthur Melo as a much-needed acquisition, but the Bianconeri knew they could not settle on just one midfielder. They needed young talent in the middle of the park badly, so they made another addition, signing Weston McKennie on loan from Schalke.

McKennie has traded the struggling Royal Blues for a different kind of pressure in Turin, where the yearly expectation is a title. And McKennie has raised his game in response, including in the last two fixtures.

The American scored a crucial goal in the 2-1 comeback win over Torino in the famed Derby Della Mole. And then just days later, McKennie netted an acrobatic second goal for Juventus in their dominant 3-0 victory over Barcelona to win the Champions League group.

Juve’s deal with Schalke for McKennie includes an option to buy of 18 million euros. McKennie has already shown he is worth that much to the Old Lady.

I won’t hype up McKennie too much, because I do not believe in building up young players so much that my words do not match the production. That is not fair to the player. But I will say that McKennie has been a solid addition to the Juventus midfield, and it is his consistency and effort that were necessary.

Weston McKennie has shown he can rise to the occasion for Juventus

Whatever a coach asks McKennie to do, he will perform that task. McKennie is an adept defender, as he showed on Matchday 1 with five tackles, three blocks, and two interceptions, according to FBRef.com.

But in that same game, McKennie had three shot-creating actions and one goal-creating action. He’s had four games this season with multiple shot-creating actions, including three in the most recent win over Barcelona.

So McKennie isn’t just an all-around midfielder who helps the Juventus defense. He is an all-around midfielder who helps the attack and scores goals himself, as we saw in recent matches. McKennie is a different kind of No. 10 who can provide goals and shot-creating actions high up the pitch, causing headaches for defenses with his runs into the box. But he can also provide the running and defensive cover to help the deeper-lying players, or even frustrate an opponent’s regista with his defensive quality.

It’s not easy to find 22-year-old center midfielders for under 20 million euros who can produce big performances in the Champions League against Barcelona after already coming up huge in a heated derby fixture. McKennie, though, is a flexible player who can rise to the occasion in any setting, and his age shows that there’s still room for him to grow technically and athletically.

With his pressing and work rate on both ends of the pitch, McKennie has made quite the impression on Juventini already. The recent goals are further evidence of his upside. Juventus would do well to buy McKennie permanently at the end of the 2020-2021 season. He is built for the stages Juve compete in and has shown that he has the fighting spirit the club needs in the middle of the park.