29 August 2020
Weston McKennie is officially a new Juventus player. The 22-year old midfielder enjoys a belated birthday present with a move to the Bianconeri. He will be the first player from the United States to pull on the Juventus shirt.
AGREEMENT WITH FC SCHALKE FOR THE ACQUISITION OF THE PLAYER WESTON MCKENNIE
Turin, 29 August 2020 - Juventus Football Club S.p.A. announces that an agreement with FC GelsenkirchenSchalke 04 e.V. for the temporary acquisition, until 30 June 2021, of the registration rights of the player Weston McKennie has been finalized for a consideration of € 4,5 million.
The agreement further entails:
-The obligation for Juventus to definitely acquire the player’s registrations rights, subject to the achievement of certain given sportive objectives by the end of the 2020/2021 season;
-The right for Juventus to definitively acquire the player’s registration rights in case these given objectives are not achieved.
In both cases, the agreed consideration for the definitive acquisition is € 18,5 million, payable in three years, which might be increased up to a maximum of € 7 milion upon achievement of further sportive performance objectives over the duration of the employment contract with the player.
HIS CAREER
Born in Little Elm, Texas, McKennie came through the youth ranks of FC Dallas before making the move to Schalke 04 in 2016, having spent part of his childhood growing up in Germany. At the age of 18, McKennie made his first team debut for Die Königsblauen in the Bundesliga in May 2017. The following season he made 25 appearances between league and cup games, with his standout performances seeing him receiving his first call-up to the U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team. McKennie had a dream debut for the Stars and Stripes, opening the scoring in their friendly match away to Portugal, with the midfielder’s goal coming as a well-taken right-foot finish inside the box after skipping past the last defender. The goal is the first of six scored so far with the United States.
Over the following seasons, McKennie became a first team regular, increasing his club appearances, reaching a total of 91 apps and five goals, with one of them a late Champions League match-winner. In 2018/19, Schalke faced Lokomotiv Moscow away from home and the game was decided in the 88th minute when McKennie managed to react first on a corner kick.
HIS CHARACTERISTICS
McKennie’s personality is what stands out the most: after all, it couldn’t be otherwise for a player that at only 20 years of age, wore the captain’s armband for his national team. It is also for this reason and not exclusively for tactical purposes, that his adaptability is explained. In Germany, with Schalke, McKennie has in fact played in various positions, although his ideal one is as central midfielder or in front of the defence, when called upon he has also played in various defensive positions. At 185cm tall, the young American is known for his great determination which he can express with constant dynamism and through his high number of balls recovered.
HIS STATS
McKennie is just one of the five players born in 1998 who have already racked up 5,000 minutes on the pitch in the Bundesliga.
In the last two seasons, he was the youngest Schalke 04 player to have delivered the most number amount of assists (four).
Together with Daniel Caligiuri, he was the most utilised midfielder at Schalke with 28 appearances.
It’s important to note the number of ball recovered, 175 in the 2019/20 Bundesliga season: no other Schalke 04 midfielder has done better.
