Massimiliano Allegri shares why Leeds United relegation benefited Weston McKennie amid Juventus development
Massimiliano Allegri believes suffering relegation with Leeds United has benefitted Weston McKennie on his return to Juventus this season.
Speaking in a press conference on Wednesday (3 January, via ilBiancoNero), the Serie A giant’s manager said the USA international has “grown and matured” because of his unpleasant experience at Elland Road.
He added that the 25-year-old returned to Turin with the “desire to stay” after the midfielder has earned his place back in the Seria A club’s starting lineup this season.
“McKennie hasn’t changed, he’s grown and matured thanks to his experience at Leeds,” said Allegri. “He didn’t have a pleasant experience because they were relegated. He has returned with a desire to stay, but we are still halfway through the season, and he has five more months where he wants to do even more.”
Letdown
The feeling among just about everyone associated with Leeds is that the loan signing of McKennie turned out to be a huge letdown.
The midfielder arrived at Elland Road in January 2023 with a big reputation following his exploits at Juventus, but he failed to have any real impact in his 20 appearances.
He was one of a number of signings last season that simply failed to pull their weight in the side as the Whites were relegated to the Championship.
The biggest surprise is that the American has since returned to the Italian side and nailed down a place in the starting lineup, making 18 appearances so far this season.
Although he looks to have got his career back on track, there probably won’t be too many people in West Yorkshire that are happy for him following his performances for the Whites.
In other Leeds United news, the Whites could be set to call up a player’s agent to complete their first January transfer.