5 USMNT players who could benefit from a move during transfer window
The new European season is already upon us, with the top leagues in England, France, Italy and Spain all kicking off their 2024-25 campaigns this weekend. That's not necessarily good news for several U.S. national team players who aren't sure if they'll still be employed by their current clubs when the continent's transfer window slams shut on Aug. 30.
Here are five Americans who could be on the move to new destinations before the end of the month.
M Weston McKennie, 25, Juventus (Italy)
Juve is just days away from its Serie A opener against Como, and there's still no word where McKennie will land. The swashbuckling Texan is coming off a career season during which he had 10 assists across all competitions, but the club is looking to sell after the two sides failed to agree to a contract extension. (McKennie's current pact expires next summer.)
ESPN UK reported on Tuesday that a transfer within Italy to Fiorentina remains possible. Last week, AC Milan turned down the chance to add the Schalke product to a roster that already includes fellow Americans Yunus Musah and Christian Pulisic, according to Gazzetta dello Sport. And those rumors about Inter Miami won't go away, even if it's unclear how the next USMNT manager might view one of his most important players leaving one of the world's Top Four domestic circuits for MLS.
D Mark McKenzie, 25, Genk (Belgium)
After four years with the Smurfs, the former Philadelphia Union center back appears ready to jump up a level. Media outlets in Germany claim that McKenzie is a target of multiple Bundesliga clubs, namely Mainz, Stuttgart and Wolfsburg, with Stuttgart the apparent front-runner as of Tuesday.
Breaking into the Reds' lineup immediately might be difficult; the club has already signed a slew of other central defenders this summer, including Swiss international Leonidas Stergiou. If McKenzie plays, though, he'll surely boost his stock in a position of need for the national team.
M/F Giovanni Reyna, 21, Borussia Dortmund (Germany)
Reyna seemed headed for a BVB exit back in January, when he left the Bundesliga titan for Premier League Nottingham Forest. The short-term loan was supposed to expose the youngster to other potential suitors. Instead, he barely played in England as Dortmund reached the Champions League final without him.
The safe bet then was that Reyna would leave for good this summer. Now it appears that he could stay under first year manager Nuri Şahin. That might be his best option; this is a club that has churned out the likes of Jude Bellingham and Erling Haaland in recent years, and the departure of veteran Marco Reus plus loanees Ian Maatsen and Jadon Sancho leaves Julian Brandt as Reyna's main competition for minutes in 2024-25.
M Tanner Tessmann, 22, Venezia (Italy)
The captain and perhaps the best player on the U.S. U-23 squad that reached the knockout stage at the just-concluded Paris Olympics, Tessmann helped Venezia win promotion to Serie A last spring after two seasons in the second tier. His performances also caught the eye of Italian powers Inter Milan and Fiorentina, though neither was able to reach a deal.
Other clubs have also shown interest in the Birmingham, Alabama-born box-to-box type, including Torino and Prem duo Everton and Ipswich Town — though Tessmann, who has just two senior caps, could have trouble landing a work permit in England. But he's clearly not long for Venice no matter what, with his current club expected to try to cash before Deadline Day.
GK Matt Turner, 30, Nottingham Forest (England)
A year after he won the starting job at Forest, Turner enters the new season third on manager Nuno Espírito Santo's goalkeeper depth chart after the club inked 6-foot-8 Brazilian Carlos Miguel to back up Matz Sels, whose early 2024 arrival sent Turner to the bench.
That reality has the U.S. No. 1 looking for a new employer. "My club situation hasn't been the easiest," Turner said last month after the U.S. was eliminated from the Copa América. "I feel like I proved myself enough that I'll get a fair chance when I get back overseas to showcase my ability."
That chance could come in Germany. Last week, leading American transactions reporter Tom Bogert revealed that Turner was on the radar of an unnamed Bundesliga club. A season-long loan there or elsewhere in Europe seems like the likeliest outcome for the former New England Revolution backstop, who can't afford not to play regularly after spending much of the last two seasons as a reserve.
Doug McIntyre is a soccer reporter for FOX Sports. A former staff writer with ESPN and Yahoo Sports, he has covered U.S. men's and women's national teams at FIFA World Cups on five continents. Follow him @ByDougMcIntyre.
