Weston McKennie at Juventus thread:

With Juventus set to sign talented American midfielder Weston Mckennie, let’s analyse what the American will bring to Turin and how he could fit into Andrea Pirlo’s system.

McKennie is a highly versatile footballer, being able to play in several positions which include: central midfield, defensive midfield and even as a central defender.

In my personal opinion, McKennie will likely be deployed in a defensive midfield role for Juventus due to his very respectable defensive ability. In saying that, McKennie can also perform well in a central midfield role.

While playing as a defensive midfielder for Schalke, Mckennie made 1.5 tackles per game, winning 55% of his tackles. Another great defensive quality he possesses is his ability to block the ball. McKennie averaged 1.9 blocks per game this past season.

Defensively, his work rate is extremely high and he utilises this work rate along with a good understanding of the game to intercept and block the opposition’s attack.

One of McKennie’s biggest strengths is his imposing aerial ability. McKennie won 61% of his aerial duels. This is a further bonus for Juventus due to struggles to win aerial duels in midfield this past season.

On the ball, McKennie is solid without being great. He averaged 36.7 passes per game with an 80.9% success rate. This is an aspect of his game which can be improved, particularly through the coaching of Andrea Pirlo.

A further asset to McKennie’s game is his goal threat. In the 19/20 season he managed 11 goals for Schalke, highly impressive figures for a midfielder. It’s very beneficial that McKennie offers goal threat from midfield.

Despite Arthur & Bentancur who are currently the other options to play in the 6 role for Juventus being better than McKennie from an on the ball perspective, McKennie will add something different to Juve’s defensive midfield option which is extremely valuable.

McKennie will be highly useful for Juventus in big games where Juve may not dominate possession due to his defensive prowess. Overall, with a loan to buy option priced at around €18m this is a great signing for Juventus and adds a different profile to Juve’s midfield.