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European notebook

Euro notebook: Dest & Pepi lead PSV, Adeniran dominates in Austria, and more

ASN walks you through a busy weekend for Americans in Europe as preseason gradually turns into the season throughout the continent
BY Brian Sciaretta Posted
August 17, 2026
8:45 AM

IT WAS A FUN weekend in Europe for American players which saw U.S. internationals team up for a goal in the Eredivisie, along with positive performances in the Championship, Austria, Scotland, and Italy – as well as in the final preseason games for teams in the biggest leagues.

For now, let’s start in Holland.

 

Dest assists on Pepi’s winner

 

After a disappointing draw in the season opener last week, PSV Eindhoven defeated Excelsior 2-1 on Saturday. With the score tied 1-1 in the 57th minute, the winning goal for PSV came via an all-American connection.

Sergino Dest came down the right side, sent in a cross which was finished off by Ricardo Pepi.



It was a strong game for the American duo, with both players delivering solid performances. One storyline to watch in the coming weeks is whether transfer interest grows for either player. Dest has a clause in his contract with a brief window requiring PSV to let him leave if an offer exceeds €25 million. Meanwhile, Fulham had been interested in Pepi earlier this year but talks eventually broke down. Pepi’s previous club Augsburg retains a high sell-on price and that makes a sale less profitable for PSV.

 

Adeniran dominates in Austria

 

Sam Adeniran, 27, has been the best player in the Austrian Bundesliga in 2026. After leading LASK to the Austrian double last season (winning the Austrian Cup and Bundesliga), he has the club off to a stellar start this season.

Through three games, LASK has nine points. The latest being a 4-1 win over Ried on Friday. Adeniran scored twice in the win and that gives him four goals and an assist in the first three Bundesliga games. He also scored in LASK’s first Austrian Cup game.



Adeniran was subbed out in the 56th minute due to injury but afterward Lask coach Dietmar Kühbauer revealed it was just precautionary. Meanwhile, former Atlanta United homegrown George Bello continued to start at left back for Lask.

Next up for lask are Champions League qualifiers against Celtic. The first leg takes place on Wednesday. It is going to be very interesting to watch Adeniran go up against Celtic’s two American central defenders in Auston Trusty and Cameron Carter-Vickers. Adeniran will likely be a handful for them.

If Adeniran continues to play well and dominate the Austrian league, national team talk might come into the mix although the U.S. team’s strikers are all playing well. But Nigeria’s national team might also become interested.

 

Berhalter & Arfsten feature for Boro

 

It was the season opening weekend for the English Championship. Middlesbrough defeated newly-promoted Lincoln City 2-1 in a game that was trickier than it should have been for Boro.

Sebastian Berhalter, 25, started for Middlesbrough and played all 90 minutes while Max Arfsten came into the game in the 63rd minute. Aidan Morris is currently out with an injury for Boro but is expected back soon.

Middlesborough actually trailed at halftime 1-0 but then played much better in the second with goals from Will Lankshear in the 62nd minute plus a stoppage time winner.

Berhalter was quiet in the first half but was very strong in the second half with his passing. Arfsten, meanwhile, was excellent with his aggressive dribbling and his ability to get the ball into dangerous positions.

Neither player was required to do much defending as Lincoln City was pinned back for most of the game after taking an early lead. It will be an important measuring stick for both players when they go against the better teams in the league. But for now, both are doing well and the team will be much better when Morris returns, likely next week.

Led by Captain Campbell, WBA win opener

 

Staying in the English championship, West Bromwich Albion one it's season opener 2-1 away against Norwich City on Saturday. After a disappointing season last year, it was important for West Brom to get out of the gate strong this weekend. Last week, the club named American central defender George Campbell as its captain for the upcoming season.

It was a good game from Campbell who completed 52/58 of his passes and had 10 clearances to help preserve the win. As most players coming out of MLS who transfer to the Championship are having immediate success in England, Campbell's is perhaps the most surprising given that his last season in Montreal was a struggle for everyone on that team.

It would not be surprising to see him on an upcoming U.S. National team roster given the need to expand the central defender player pool.

 

Musah eyeing increased role

 

In one of the more surprising developments this summer with American players in Europe, Yunus Musah returned to AC Milan from a disappointing season on loan with Atalanta and now might be taking on an increased role with Milan. It was reported in May that after Atalanta declined its purchase option, Milan was going to look to sell the New York-born midfielder.

But Milan’s new manager Ruben Amorim seems very inclined to use Musah this season. In the team’s final preseason friendly on Saturday against Manchester United, Musah started in a 4-2 win over the Premier League club. Musah wasn’t necessarily great, but he was not subbed out until after all the goals were scored.

Musah did not make the World Cup team because he was stuck in in a poor season with Atalanta and whenever he did play, he made a lot mistakes. But there are still a lot of questions?  Was not making the team a wake-up call? Is he truly in the plans at Milan? Is Milan playing him to try to build back up his value?

It is impossible to know for certain how much Musah is in the plans at Milan until the meaningful games begin.

 

Reyna assists, misses penalty

 

Gio Reyna picked up an assist for Strasbourg in a 1-1 draw with Newcastle but then missed the opening shootout attempt (which Strasbourg would then go on to prevail).

Reyna, 23, came into the game to start the second half with Strasbourg down 1-0. The assist came when the ball came to him during an effective Strasbourg press.



It has been a brutal preseason for Strasbourg, which lost four straight games before this draw/shootout win. Each of the four losses were by more than one goal and the worst being a 7-0 loss to Sporting.

Reyna should play at Strasbourg if he’s healthy, but the team could be in tough shape.

 

Paredes sharp off the bench

 

FC Utrecht lost its second straight Eredivisie game to start the season with a 4-1 defeat to AZ Alkmaar on Sunday.

The only redeeming development for Utrecht is that Kevin Paredes played well off the bench. He came into the game in the 55th minute with Utrecht down 3-0. He was very effective with his dribbling and duel winning. If he is healthy, he should be able play a lot of minutes this season. But Utrecht needs to be better.

 

Fossey assists in Standard draw

 

In Belgium’s Pro League, Standard Liege’s American captain Marlon Fossey started and played 62 minutes in a 3-3 draw with KV Mechelen. He left with his team up 2-1. His best moment came in the 9th minute when he assisted on the game’s opening goal.



 

Campbell scores in friendly

 

One week until its Bundesliga opener, Elversberg came away with a nice 4-1 win over FC Lorient of Ligue 1 in a friendly. Cole Campbell scored for Elversberg after joining the club over the summer.

Elversberg is expected to struggle in Germany’s top flight but is hoping a bunch of unproven youngsters acquired from bigger clubs will lead to a surprise. Campbell arrives after a very difficult season with Borussia Dortmund that also included a difficult loan to Hoffenheim. Campbell can and should play first team minutes on a regular basis. For Elversberg to succeed, he will need to produce goals like this.



If he does, Campbell could emerge as a key player for the U.S. Olympic team. The speedy winger struggled at the 2025 U-20 World Cup but played well with the U.S. U-20 team during the cycle.

 

Wright injured

 

Coventry are preparing for its return to the Premier League but the club will have to be without Haji Wright for at least at the beginning of the season as head coach Frank Lampard confirmed to reporters last week.

"He has got a quad injury which we are investigating so I will tell you more when we know exactly what it is," Lampard said.  

 

Elsewhere in Europe

 

Auston Trusty scored the opening goal for Celtic in a comfortable 4-0 win over Dundee United in the Scottish Cup with a nice header off a corner.



These wins tend to be easy for Celtic and defenders such as Trusty and Cameron Carter-Vickers are often not frequently tested. It comes down to what the team can do in Old Firm game and in European games. This week’s game against LASK is massive.

Gianluca Busio played 90 minutes for Venezia in a 3-2 win over Modena of Serie B in the Coppa Italia. Busio played well, but Venezia needs to be much better if it wants to finally survive in Serie A this season. As captain, Busio will play a big role in whether the team survives.

Atletico Madrid defeated Marseille 2-1 in the final preseason friendly for both teams. Tim Weah started and played 87 minutes at right back in the loss while midfielder Johnny Cardoso played 56 minutes for Atletico in the win. Neither American stood out much. For Weah, it is all about getting his confidence back after failing to impress at the World Cup. He had more at stake in this game than Cardoso, who was just getting into form ahead of a midweek opener. Weah does not seem to be in a good place with his game.

Rokas Pukstas, 21, had a good performance, which included an assist, for Hajduk Split in a 2-1 away win over HNK Gorica.  It was the first win of the season for Hajduk Split (after three games). The big question for Pukstas is when will he finally be sold by Hajduk Split? It seems as if the club is hanging on to him for its Conference League Qualification matchup against Raków Cz?stochowa of Poland. That means a lot financially to the club. Hadjuk was put in a bad place after its ugly 4-0 loss to Pafos in the second leg of its Europa qualifier, which bounced it from that tournament.

In a bit of positive news, John Tolkin made the matchday squad for Holstein Kiel in the 2.Bundesliga for the first time since his knee injury on April 10. While he did not play in a 2-2 draw with St. Pauli, it was a positive sign in his recovery.

Finally, Nicholas Gioacchini has signed for Sabadell in Spain's LaLiga 2. 

 

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