Why Juventus will not sell Weston McKennie this summer

When Juventus acquired midfielder Weston McKennie on loan from Schalke this summer, there were some skeptical Juventini. McKennie was an unproven player from the Bundesliga’s worst club. Did he really have the tools necessary to be a fit in Turin? Why weren’t Juve going after a more established name?

In just a few months, McKennie won everybody over, as the move proved to be a masterstroke by a front office that needed to get their moves right this summer. And McKennie thus earned himself a permanent move to Juventus well before the conclusion of the loan deal at the reasonable price of 18.5 million euros.

Despite McKennie’s success, we have, for some reason, been seeing rumors that the American could be sold this summer if the right offer came across Juve’s desk.

TuttoJuve.com’s Massimo Pavan wrote that Juventus would consider selling Weston McKennie this summer for an offer of upwards 50 million euros. The reasoning is that nobody’s place in midfield is certain due to the upcoming summer changes, as Juve are linked to Manuel Locatelli and Houssem Aouar – among others. And apparently the club does not feel he has been as convincing in recent fixtures as he was early in the campaign.

Weston McKennie scored for Juventus immediately after the transfer rumors began to surface

So you know what McKennie did in the match after this report? He scored off the bench to seal a 3-1 win over Genoa. How about that for a response?

McKennie has been Juve’s most productive midfielder this season, as he’s now scored five goals with two assists. His intelligence in the attacking end, composure in front of goal, and work rate defensively have made him a fan favorite and a key squad player for the Bianconeri.

Really, the conversation we should be having about McKennie is whether or not he should be starting, as opposed to whether or not Juve should sell him for a phantom 50 million euro offer that will likely never come.

The truth is that McKennie is a talented, 22-year-old box-to-box midfielder who is underrated and has huge potential. Juventus struck gold by rolling the dice on a player who was being held back by Schalke, who were quite comfortably the worst-run club in Europe’s top five.

And if any Juventini have lingering doubts about McKennie’s long-term security in Turin, his agent David Muller told TuttoJuve.com’s Mirko Di Natale that McKennie is “extremely happy” with the club and that he does not expect the situation to change “anytime soon”, calling the move to Juve a huge success for McKennie and the club.

Juventus did well to acquire McKennie, and they would be foolish to sell him so quickly. A lot can be said about Juve’s decisions on the transfer market in the past, but Fabio Paratici and Co. are certainly not foolish. McKennie is staying.