Weston McKennie aware of the pressure of playing for Juventus
The United States men’s international team midfielder admits that if he doesn’t keep the highest standards on and off the field, he will quickly be replaced.
Last season Weston McKennie arrived at Juventus on loan from FC Schalke 04 and quickly adapted to the Serie A side. The United States international had a breakout campaign and the bosses decided to make the move permanent. Juventus paid $22.55 million to sign McKennie and the Bundesliga side could earn an additional $4.5 million through bonus payments and performance-based add-ons.
McKennie has to keep high standards
The story has not been perfect for McKennie during his year and a half with Juventus, because the bosses were willing to let him go during the winter transfer window. There were several reasons why the club was ready to part ways with the player. Firstly, he broke Juventus and USMNT covid-19 protocols last year.
The second reason was his lack of ‘professionalism’ in his first season with the Serie A side when Andrea Pirlo was in charge. The Italian manager said that McKennie was struggling to maintain his weight and that led him to miss several games last campaign. Now the 23-year-old is aware that he has to keep the highest standards on and off the field to remain with Juventus.
“I’ve learned a lot tactically. You must always change position depending on where the ball is,” he told DAZN. “I’ve learned in many different ways that football is a big business and that if you can’t do your best in a club like Juventus, being replaced is as easy as being signed.
“Pirlo has just finished his playing career, while Allegri is an experienced coach,” the midfielder said. “It’s different when you can’t do anything on the pitch. Sometimes I looked at Pirlo on the bench and I could understand what he was thinking: 'I wouldn’t have passed the ball that way, I would have done better than that…'”