Weston McKennie

Weston McKennie
Weston McKennie (2018)
Personnel
Surname	Weston James Earl McKennie
birthday	August 28, 1998
place of birth	Fort Lewis ,  Washington , USA
size	185 cm
position	midfield
Juniors
Years	station
2004-2009	FC Phoenix Otterbach
2009-2016	FC Dallas
2016-2017	FC Schalke 04
Men's
Years	station	Games (goals) 1
2017-2020	FC Schalke 04	75 (4)
2020−	→  Juventus Turin  (loan)	0 (0)
National team
Years	selection	Games (goals) 2
2013-2014	USA U17	6 (0)
2016	USA U19	9 (2)
2016–	USA U20	2 (0)
2017–	United States	16 (6)
1 Only league games are given. As of August 29, 2020 2 As of October 12, 2019

Weston James Earl McKennie (born August 28, 1998 in Fort Lewis , Washington ) is an American football player . The midfielder is on loan from FC Schalke 04 in Italy to Juventus Turin and is a senior international.

Club career

Beginnings

McKennie lived in Germany for three years from the age of six because his father, a US Army soldier , was stationed in Kaiserslautern . He started playing soccer at FC Phönix Otterbach in 2004. When he returned to the US with his family, he joined FC Dallas in 2009 . At the prestigious Academy of Texans, he went through all youth departments and made it to the junior national team of his country. In the 2015/16 season he scored 12 goals in one season.

FC Schalke 04

McKennie in the FC Schalke 04 jersey (2018)

In August 2016, McKennie moved to the young talent center , the Knappenschmiede , at FC Schalke 04 . The talented American was hired with high expectations and the prospect that he could make the leap into the Bundesliga team. Since the change could only be made when McKennie came of age, he missed the first four game days of the A-Junioren-Bundesliga West. From the fifth day of the match he immediately advanced to a high performer and led the team onto the field as captain. From December 2016 to the beginning of February 2017, he missed several competitive games of his team due to a metatarsal fracture. In 19 games he scored four goals and prepared three more goals. In second place, the team qualified for the finals of the A-Junior Championship . There they were eliminated in the semifinals.

Thanks to strong performances in the junior team, he made the leap into the professional squad. He made his professional debut on May 20, 2017, the 34th matchday of the 2016/17 Bundesliga season , against FC Ingolstadt 04 , when he came on for Donis Avdijaj in the 77th minute . On September 27, 2017, McKennie extended his contract to June 30, 2022. On October 3, 2018, he scored the 1-0 winning goal in the Champions League game against Lokomotiv Moscow , scoring for Schalke for the first time. A few days later, on the 7th matchday of the 2018/19 season, he also scored his first Bundesliga goal in a 2-0 win against Fortuna Düsseldorf .

In the summer of 2019, McKennie extended his contract with Schalke early to June 30, 2024.

Juventus Turin

For the 2020/21 season, the midfielder moved to the Italian Serie A at Juventus Turin for 4.5 million euros, initially for a year on loan . If certain sporting goals are achieved, Juventus Turin is obliged to acquire transfer rights. If these goals are not achieved, the Italian record champions still have the option of a permanent commitment. In both cases, the transfer fee is 18.5 million euros, which can increase by up to 7 million euros.

National team

From the U17 he went through all junior teams in the USA.

He played his first game for the USA's senior team on November 14, 2017. In the friendly against reigning European champions Portugal in Faro , he scored his first goal after 21 minutes to make it 1-0. The game ended 1-1. In the CONCACAF Nations League game against Cuba (7-0), McKennie scored three goals within 13 minutes and thus scored the fastest hat-trick in the association's history.

Style of play

McKennie can be used flexibly in midfield, prefers to act in defensive midfield - so he takes on the position of the classic "six". He also occasionally plays as a right back or as a center forward. In the position of the six, the American is helped by his physique and his energetic way of playing football. He scores with a high workload and technical capabilities.

Web links

Commons : Weston McKennie  - Collection of Images

• Weston McKennie in the database of transfermarkt.de
• Weston McKennie in the database of weltfussball.de
• Weston McKennie in the database of kicker.de

Individual evidence

1. ↑ US prospect Weston McKennie is living his dream in Germany . ESPN FC / Howler Magazine.
2. ↑ ^{a b c} Knappenschmiede : Weston McKennie strengthens the U19 ( memento from August 24, 2017 in the Internet Archive ), from August 30, 2016, accessed on May 21, 2017.
3. ↑ Schalke's Weston McKennie dreaming of following Christian Pulisic's path , espnfc.us, April 4, 2017, accessed May 22, 2017 (English).
4. ↑ ^{a b} DerWesten.de : The appointment of the Schalke talents is also a sign to the often failing professionals , from May 18, 2017, accessed on May 21, 2017.
5. ↑ Schalke04.de : 1: 1 - Draw in Ingolstadt at the end of the season , from May 20, 2017.
6. ↑ ^{a b} Weston McKennie makes Schalke first-team debut , Starsandstripes.com, from May 20, 2017 (English).
7. ↑ McKennie's premier goal paves the way for Schalke , match report on kicker.de, accessed on October 7, 2018.
8. ↑ Until 2024: S04 extended early with Weston McKennie , schalke04.de, accessed on June 30, 2019
9. ↑ Welcome Weston! , juventus.com, August 29, 2020, accessed August 29, 2020.
10. ↑ Schalker McKennie scores against Portugal , Frankfurter Rundschau, November 15, 2017
11. ↑ Schalkes McKennie succeeds in a record three-pack , kicker.de, accessed on October 13, 2019
12. ↑ Spotlight on the Schalke youth | Half-field flank. Retrieved May 30, 2017 .