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The American international flopped after joining Leeds United on loan in 2023.
Weston McKennie has opened up on his struggles adapting to life outside of football during an ill-fated loan spell at Leeds United.
McKennie was presented as a marquee signing when he arrived on loan from Juventus in January 2023, with the midfielder joining USMNT teammates Tyler Adams and Brenden Aaronson and all three working under Jesse Marsch. Leeds had the option to make his move permanent in the summer but by that point, Marsch had been sacked - as had his successor Javi Gracia - and relegation was confirmed.
The American swiftly flew back to Turin and having initially been seen as surplus to requirements, became a regular starter last season. He remains a valued squad member for new boss Thiago Motta and as Juventus beat Manchester City 2-0 in the Champions League on Wednesday, the 26-year-old former Leeds flop even came off the bench to score.
McKennie’s quality was rarely in doubt during his Leeds spell, with the American impressing during the 2022 World Cup just two months before his Elland Road move. And so Chapeltown-born Micah Richards was pushed to ask what went wrong following Wednesday’s win over City.
“Okay I will say this, Leeds as a club, the people within the club I liked,” McKennie told CBS Sports Golazo. “The city itself and the surroundings were a little bit hard. It was always grey, I had a sunlight window in my house and there was never any sun coming through.
“No Sunday roast, no nothing. I was alone. My area was like no area, nothing around. I went up to see Harry Potter world which was like an hour away. That’s it, that’s all I did, and golf.”
McKennie failed to make an impact at Leeds and was unable to connect with large parts of the fanbase, helped in little part by the fact Marsch was sacked just one week after bringing his compatriot to Elland Road. The club were in turmoil by that point and Gracia lasted just 10 weeks before also leaving.
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"When I went there, my head was more, ‘OK, I want to go here, perform very well, put up numbers, help the team stay up and then hopefully another Premier League team, top five, comes in and sees how well I’ve played and then they would buy me’,” he told the Athletic in June. “With all the respect to Leeds and their fans, I love Champions League football.
“I love playing at the highest level. Leeds was more of a place I wanted to go to experience something new, the Premier League. But there’s no better place to be seen by Premier League teams than if you’re playing in the Premier League."
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