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US Soccer

Weston McKennie, the American Sami Khedira?

The United States Men's national team midfielder discusses being compared to German World Cup champion and his career with Schalke 04.

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Weston McKennie, the American Sami Khedira?
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Weston McKennie's name has been linked to the Premier League, as apparently, Liverpool have been taking a close look at the US international, who is currently on the books at Bundesliga side Schalke 04, where he has been since joining from FC Dallas in 2016.

McKennie unfazed by Khedira comparison

The 20-year-old midfielder made over 30 appearances with Schalke this season and has been compared with German world champion, Sami Khedira; however, McKennie says he does not feel pressured by the comparison. "It's not something that I'm frightened of or am aware of either, I don't pay a lot of attention to media or what people write or people say," he said in an interview with Sky Sports.

McKennie describes himself as being self-critical and ambitious in that he knows what areas of his game he needs to improve: "I listen to what my coach says, my closer inner circle, and what they tell me and what my instincts tell me," he explained. The US international, who is under contract with Schalke until 2022, has also been gaining vital experience in the German top flight after going through the high of finishing as runners-up last season to being embroiled in the battle to avoid relegation this year.

But for now, he's focused on his career with Schalke and is not worried about joining his friend and USMNT team mate, Christian Pulisic in the Premier League nor the comparison with Khedira, because right now McKennie is focused solely on becoming a better player.