Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri believes Weston McKennie has ‘matured’ also thanks to a ‘not pleasant’ experience at Leeds United last season.
The American midfielder joined the Premier League side on loan with an option to buy in January 2023 but returned to Juventus six months later following Leeds’ relegation to the Championship.
He has become a regular starter at the Allianz Stadium this season, making 18 Serie A appearances.
Allegri spoke about the 25-year-old at a press conference on Wednesday on the eve of a Coppa Italia clash with Salernitana.
“McKennie hasn’t changed, he’s grown and matured thanks to his experience at Leeds,” the Italian tactician said, as quoted by Ilbianconero.com.
“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.”
McKennie has played 114 games across all competitions with Juventus since 2020, scoring 13 goals.
Allegri denied that Fabio Miretti will leave on loan in the January transfer window, despite interest from clubs like Monza and Salernitana, Juventus’ next opponents in Coppa Italia and Serie A.
“I’m really happy with Miretti. He has played regularly for the last year and a half. He scored an important goal in Florence and he can only improve. He will stay at Juventus.”
The Bianconeri will host Salernitana tomorrow and travel to the Stadio Arechi next weekend in Serie A.
“I’ll talk about the league game on Saturday. We have 43 points and it’s never easy to win. The margin of error gets thinner as we move forward,” Allegri concluded.