Weston McKennie’s agent has admitted that the lure of Juventus encouraged the £20 million USA international to reject a move to Southampton or Leicester City, while speaking to TuttoJuve.
This time last month, it felt that pretty much every club in the Premier League was batting their eyelashes in McKennie’s direction.
The all-action American seemed to have his heart set on a move to England after a disastrous end to the Bundesliga season with a Schalke side who failed to win any of their last 16 matches.
Southampton were in talks over a £20 million deal that would see McKennie replace departed captain Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, according to Sky, while the 22-year-old was also a target for a Leicester side aiming to ease the work-load on Wilfried Ndidi’s shoulders (ESPN).
But then Juventus came calling and the rest, as they say, was history.
“When Juventus wants you, you don’t even have to ask yourself questions,” agent David Muller said when asked why McKennie did not join Southampton, Leicester or Niko Kovac’s Monaco.
“(Juve) are one of the five or six best teams in the world, Weston wants to make their mark in Italy and will also help Juventus to be further recognized in the United States.
“Weston loves this experience, day after day he shows more and more enthusiasm. It is a dream come true. He has always been a player who likes competition and challenges, we are sure he will become a better player in this environment.”
Despite winning a ninth straight Serie A title last season, Juventus are embarking on a top-down transformation, putting the building blocks in place for a new dynasty with the likes of Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci and Cristiano Ronaldo the wrong side of 30.
Blaise Matuidi and Gonzalo Higuain will be followed out the door by Sami Khedira.
Fresh-faced talents like Dejan Kulusevski, Arthur and Merih Demiral are very much the new generation, providing a much-needed injection of youth in Andrea Pirlo’s shifting squad.
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