One of the stranger stories, at least on paper, during the early days of the summer transfer window was Aston Villa’s interest in Weston McKennie.
This came off the back of a rather disappointing loan spell at Leeds, who ended up being relegated, forcing the USA international to return to Juventus, where many thought he would be sold.
This is when Aston Villa started sniffing around, with Unai Emery reportedly crazy about the player, and, as recalled by Corriere Torino, they made some sort of approach, only to back away rather quickly.
The local newspaper look at how McKennie has turned his situation around since returning from England, as he is now an integral part of Max Allegri’s plans at the Serie A side.
The 25-year-old has started the last two league games for Juventus, being deployed as a right-midfielder in a 3-5-2 formation, showcasing his versatility in the process.
He was involved in all three goals in the 3-1 win over Lazio, showing how far he has come since being labeled ‘redundant’ by the Italians following his Leeds spell.
The hope was that someone would bite to then have the funds to buy one of Sergej Milinković-Savić or Franck Kessié, but no offers came, leading to the player being reinstated ahead of the USA tour in pre-season, purely for marketing and merchandising purposes.
However, he grasped the opportunity with both hands and hasn’t looked back since, now looking completely ‘regenerated’, meaning that Aston Villa’s reluctance to pay €30m for him has worked out a treat for the Serie A giants.
