Pranav Kannan
Journalist reveals Juventus refused Donny van de Beek and Weston McKennie swap deal proposed by Manchester United in the summer
According to Gazzetta dello Sport journalist Marco Guidi (h/t Manchester Evening News), Manchester United saw a proposal to swap USMNT star Weston McKennie for out-of-favour Dutch midfielder Donny van de Beek rejected by Juventus in the summer.
McKennie has caught a lot of eyes with his performances for the national team in the World Cup this time with the USMNT making a valiant Round of 16 run where they were ultimately overcome by the Netherlands.
The midfield of the USA caught the eye of many football watchers with the Juventus man, in particular, impressing with his talent and tenacity in midfield. However, the midfield starlet is struggling at the club level with the Italian giants.
The 24-year-old has played 16 times for Juventus across all competitions this season and has scored three goals and provided one assist but he is constantly linked with an exit from Turin despite these impressive numbers.
Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur are continually linked with a move for the USMNT star and could go for him in January with Antonio Conte supposedly considering the 24-year-old as an option to reinforce his midfield.
However, things could have been very different for McKennie had Juventus accepted Manchester United’s swap proposal in the summer that would have seen Van de Beek go one way whilst the US starlet would have come here.
Van de Beek has struggled to make an impression since joining the Red Devils in 2020 and even the arrival of former manager Erik ten Hag has not been sufficient to get the Dutch midfielder a prominent time in the team.
If Man United had signed McKennie, he would have been perfect for Erik ten Hag and could have played a role in rotation with the impressive Christian Eriksen and eventually taken on from him in the future.
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It still is not over though and if Erik ten Hag really wants McKennie, he could rival Tottenham for his signature in January and if Man United pull this off, it will be a solid signing for them.
