Aston Villa will be ready for European push if they sign Weston McKennie, Unai Emery is ‘crazy’ about Leeds United loanee
Aston Villa look set to climb into the Europa League places if they manage to sign Leeds United midfielder Weston McKennie, who manager Unai Emery is “crazy” about.
The USA international is currently on loan at Leeds from Italian giants Juventus, but his long-term future at Elland Road remains uncertain given the club’s precarious position in the Premier League table.
Leeds currently sit 19th, and will most certainly lose any chance of signing McKennie on a permanent deal if they are relegated to the Championship.
But there is the potential for McKennie to remain in the Premier League should he desire it, with Villa boss Emery keen on the midfielder as the club push for the European places.
The Villans are 11th in the table, but given the fact experienced manager Emery is now in their dugout, coupled with their talented squad, the club will undoubtedly want to clinch European football as soon as possible.
The only issue downside of any move for McKennie does, however, involve goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, as reported by Italian newspaper TuttoSport.
The World Cup winner is reportedly wanted by Juventus, who could tempt Villa with a swap deal involving Martinez and McKennie when the midfielder returns to Italy from his loan.
“Unai Emery, coach of the Villans, is crazy about Weston James Earl McKennie, the American midfielder from Juventus on loan to Leeds and who will hardly be redeemed by the Yorkshire club and who, therefore, could be included in the deal,” TuttoSport wrote.
McKennie only joined Leeds in January but has already formed a solid partnership with compatriot Tyler Adams in defensive midfield, making eight appearances for his temporary club so far.
In that time, he has battled it out against the likes of world-class midfielders Enzo Fernandez, Bruno Fernandes and Alexis Mac Allister in fixtures against Chelsea, Manchester United and Brighton respectively. He has also displaced Marc Roca from the Leeds starting XI.
Despite not being in England for long, McKennie knows the league and could be a more reliable option for Emery than a player currently earning his trade elsewhere.
Moreover, both Villa and Leeds have largely operated under a 4-2-3-1 system this season, meaning the USA international would have little trouble adapting to his new surroundings at Villa Park.
Like Adams at Leeds, John McGinn is a regular at Villa. The other midfield spot has seemingly alternated between Douglas Luiz and Boubacar Kamara due to issues such as injuries, although McGinn has sometimes been pushed further forward.
But given his experience in Serie A and indeed for his nation, McKennie could quickly become a regular fixture in the starting XI.
As noted by the official Premier League website, he already boasts more clearances (14) and headed clearances (11) than McGinn, who has tallies of nine and three respectively, despite playing over three times as many matches.
It means the two could form a well-balanced midfield under Emery, and would even allow the Scot to pursue his attacking tendencies, with McGinn having taken 27 shots to McKennie’s three.
Again McKennie trumps Luiz in the clearances and headed clearances categories, while in an attacking sense, he has provided more crosses (three) than Kamara (one), with the duo level on two through balls each.
And in an exciting 2022 World Cup for the USA, McKennie averaged 36 passes per match with a pass completion rate of 78% from his four games in Qatar, as per infogol. The latter figure rises to 82% in McKennie’s brief Premier League career so far.
In other Aston Villa news, Danny Mills has been proven wrong about defender Tyrone Mings after his transformation under Emery.