West Ham more likely than Tottenham now to sign ‘dominant’ £16m star

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Premier League outfit West Ham United are in pole position to sign £16 million USA international Weston McKennie from Serie A giants Juventus, as reported by Calciomercato.

If Juventus players hoped a couple of years soaking up the sun and resting his weary mind would have seen Max Allegri return to Turin a more mellow and easy-going presence, they’ll have been disappointed.

Allegri’s stick-over-carrot approach has seen him take aim at a number of Juve stars, publicly criticising McKennie and Adrien Rabiot.

Even the outstanding Federico Chiesa has failed to escape the manager’s wrath.

But while it’s hard to justify the public denouement of Euro 2020 winner Chiesa, the heir to Cristiano Ronaldo’s throne and the most consistent attacking threat in the Juventus squad, Allegri’s frustration towards McKennie is a feeling shared by most in Turin.

Allegri described the £16 million signing from Schalke as an “excellent midfielder” last month but the applause has turned to admonishment, with McKennie struggling to recapture the form of his first few months in Italy.

He has scored only four times since that brilliant acrobatic volley in a famous 2-0 win at Barcelona ten months ago.

Is McKennie heading to West Ham and the Premier League?

McKennie has been linked with a move away as a result, with Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur mentioned as potential destinations in the Italian press (Calciomercato).

Interestingly, Villa were linked with the Texan-born enforcer last year too, before Juventus came calling.

Calciomercato, however, believes West Ham are at the front of the queue. McKennie’s ability to play as a box-to-box midfielder, a defensively minded number six or as a rampaging right-back would give David Moyes a number of options across the pitch.

And if West Ham are serious about making their European sojourn a more regular occurrence, the Hammers need all the cover and competition they can get.

“Weston’s a really big dominant presence,” USMNT teammate and Chelsea winger Christian Pulisic said in 2019.

“He’s really good at winning balls. He wins everything. He’s also good with the ball, whereas I’m not as much of a ball winner but more of a creator and dribbler. I think (we’ve) worked really well together.”