Weston McKennie has now admitted that his time on loan with Leeds United failed as the Juventus midfielder could not get fit by playing one Premier League game a week.
Elland Road chiefs moved to loan the 25-year-old in January at the request of Jesse Marsch. Yet despite signing McKennie for his compatriot, the Whites sacked the American coach just seven days later. Javi Gracia and Sam Allardyce then failed to prevent the club’s relegation.
Marsch handed McKennie his Leeds debut as a substitute at Nottingham Forest as he bowed out with a 1-0 defeat. The 45-cap USMNT star went on to start in 16 of his 20 appearances while in West Yorkshire. He made each start in the Premier League over 19 possible fixtures.
Weston McKennie was a mainstay on loan at Leeds United
McKennie spent a total of 17 weeks in England during his loan spell with Leeds. But through that time, the Whites only had three double Premier League match weeks. The Elland Road natives had one mid-week and weekend fixture in February before two doubles during April.
Leeds had a further double-match week at the end of February when they visited Fulham in the FA Cup. McKennie started every game when the Whites played twice in the same week. He only briefly returned to their bench for one-game spells under Gracia in March and April.
Mostly playing one game a week at Leeds was not what McKennie had become accustomed to at Juventus. He left the Allianz Stadium in January having played 21 games during the first half of the season. His tally included five Champions League ties and one Coppa Italia match.
The Juventus midfielder opens up on his Elland Road plight
So, McKennie feels the change to one game a week with Leeds had a detrimental impact on his performances. He often struggled to deliver when called upon in a defensive area as the Whites endured relegation. The American’s impact was often limited to his long throw-ins.
“I’m not one to make excuses at all,” McKennie has told The American Dream podcast. “But I don’t think my physical fitness was the best because I was so used to being at Juventus and playing every three days. Game fitness is so different to training fitness, for me.
“I become game fit by playing games and you can’t replicate that in training. You can try but I can’t do that. Playing one game a week, I didn’t feel I was in the best shape in terms of being able to last a 90-minute game.”
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