Weston McKennie left unimpressed by ‘complete shambles’ at Leeds United – Dean Jones
Weston McKennie was left as unimpressed by the situation at Leeds United as fans were with him during his loan last season, according to Dean Jones.
The USMNT midfielder arrived in the January transfer window with high expectations attached and a possible permanent deal for north of £30million on the cards.
Instead, Jesse Marsch was sacked as manager within weeks of him signing and, aside from a few outings, he generally struggled in the Premier League, especially next to Marc Roca once international teammate Tyler Adams’ season was ended by injury.
Jones, a former Eurosport journalist, told GIVEMESPORT: “Leeds fans might not have been impressed by McKennie, but I don’t think he was particularly impressed by the state of the team that he joined either, because it was a complete shambles in terms of the way the club was run and he found it very difficult to get going.”
Six of one, half a dozen of the other
Even McKennie himself couldn’t argue that he was a particularly positive influence on the Leeds United line up in his half-season away from Juventus.
But it is true that the club was chaotic last term, and relegation certainly wasn’t the sole responsibility of the 24-year-old when so many other players underperformed and the structure off the pitch was anything but stable.
There was plenty of blame to go around for falling out of the Premier League, and just two months after it was confirmed a large list of those who can shoulder a lot of it are already gone, including McKennie who quickly returned to Turin.
The club is still attempting to make up for lost time as the general lack of foresight among the hierarchy bled into the summer, with the sale from Andrea Radrizzani to the 49ers wasn’t agreed until 9 June, and is only now on the brink of EFL ratification.
Victor Orta was responsible for most of the signings and the managerial appointments but is now at Sevilla, while three of the four men who McKennie played under in just five months have left the club.
His midfield partner for most of his stay, Roca, is in Seville himself for a loan move to Orta’s new rivals Real Betis, while the likes of Brenden Aaronson have landed on their feet amid departures of their own.
So while McKennie became a lightning rod for criticism thanks to reputation he arrived with, Leeds United in the 2022/23 season, during the dying days of the Radrizzani era, was hardly the environment for any new arrivals to thrive.
In other Leeds United news, with the first signing of the Daniel Farke reign finally on his way the club now want at least five more to follow this summer.