Leeds flop admits he ‘let people down’ but says relegation was ‘important experience’ for his career
Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie has given us the understatement of the year, admitting that he did not perform very well for Leeds United last season.
Leeds landed the American international on loan for the second half of 2022/23 but he could not help the West Yorkshire side avoid relegation from the Premier League.
Brought to Elland Road by his compatriot, Jesse Marsch, the former RB Leipzig head coach was relieved of his duties on February 6, a week after McKennie joined.
Many Leeds fans were excited by the addition of McKennie, who was bought by Juventus after a successful stint at FC Schalke in Germany.
Unfortunately for the Elland Road faithful, he was a massive letdown as the Whites were relegated to the Championship.
Speaking this week, the 25-year-old said he did not perform well for Leeds but feels like the experience in the Premier League was “important” for his career.
“I left Juventus during the last transfer window in January last year to go to Leeds, and in this experience I was not able to give my best,” McKennie told Sky Italia.
“I feel like I’ve let people down, but when I came back I realised that having lived that kind of experience was important, that this had happened to me at that moment in my career.
“So, when I came back last summer, I told myself that the experience at Juventus should start again like the first time.
“Like when no one knew me or had doubts about me or was against me, and for this reason I did my best and it gave me the desire for redemption.
“These are the moments when I give my best, when I have to prove what I am worth, to be able to stay in a certain place. It was nice to come back and savor these sensations again.”
Despite his poor form in England and talk of him leaving Juventus in the summer, McKennie has returned to Turin and become an important player under Max Allegri.
He has played every minute of his side’s last five Serie A games and is yet to miss a single match this term.
After the Old Lady’s 2-1 win over Cagliari before the international break, Allegri was high in praise of the American midfielder.
“Wes is having a good season, I think he is maturing too after the experience on loan,” he said. “I spoke to him too, he has physical strength that helps cover for a few technical errors, but when running into space, he can be devastating.
“I told him at the start of the season that this was a very important year for him, he would be a wing-back and so he had to run back and forth. He put himself at our disposal.
“What I learned is that at Juve you must keep a low profile, work hard and create the normality of winning. That brings balance and calm. We must work on our limitations and try to make them into strengths.”
