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Americans abroad

Euro notebook: Turner nears Revs return, Pepi shines, transfer news, & more

ASN's Brian Sciaretta offers up a big column today breaking down the latest transfer news for Americans in Europe as well as big preseason games. 
BY Brian Sciaretta Posted
July 31, 2025
10:00 AM

IT IS THE MIDDLE of the week and it is time to look at where we stand in Europe as the preseason and transfer window roll on, as well as more leagues getting underway. There is a lot of news to report as of late – and as is frequently the case, it is mixed in terms of good and bad.

On the field, one of the big pieces of news is that many of the USMNT players who were involved in the Gold Cup returned to their clubs after being given time off. We’ve also seen players who have been dealing with injuries – Folarin Balogun, Sergino Dest, and Ricardo Pepi – return.

But given that we are at the end of July, let’s talk about the transfer window.

 

Big American targets remain

 

Speaking specifically of the Gold Cup team, four players have moved. Malik Tillman moved from PSV to Bayer Leverkusen, Johnny Cardoso moved from Real Betis to Atletico Madrid, Patrick Agyemang moved from Charlotte to Derby, and Damion Downs moved from Koln to Southampton.

Elsewhere, Pedro Soma transferred from Cornellia in the fifth tier of Spain to San Diego FC. The U.S. U-20 central midfielder had to move after Barcelona (where Soma spent last season at the second team level) didn’t exercise its option to buy on the loan. After that, Soma had to move because he simply can’t stay in the fifth tier. Meanwhile, San Diego is in hot pursuit of U.S. youth internationals to play and likely sell.

Staying with San Diego, Milan Illoski returned to Nordsjaelland after his loan was terminated two weeks early. Illoski scored 10 goals in only 475 minutes for San Diego in a supersub role. SDFC and Nordsjaelland share a common owner and likely did not want to spend more to have Illoski extend his loan or transfer between teams they already own.

But let’s look around about who could be on the move soon.

 

Gio Reyna

 

Gio Reyna, 22, is linked with a move from Borussia Dortmund to Parma in Serie A. The two teams are reportedly still negotiating and with BVB wanting around €11 million and Parma recently increasing their bid to €8 million.

Knowing how these things go, the deal will probably get done as BVB simply wants Reyna gone and Parma needs players. They aren’t fighting about a lot of players.

But it is telling that about how long the deal continues to take. It doesn’t seem like the interest in Reyna aside from Parma is that strong. Parma has felt no pressure to hurry and has instead been stubborn. If Parma decides to walk away, Reyna could be in trouble.

While we are used to seeing expensive deals every window, an €8 million price for Parma is a lot. Reyna would be one of the highest paid players on the team. There is likely concern with his lack of playing time over recent years and his injury history. If Reyna was seen as their starting playmaker this season from Day 1, Parma would probably get the deal done quicker. If he was seen as a backup, Parma probably would have walked away a long time ago.

My guess is that Parma sees Reyna as a high risk/high reward gamble. That assessment would be fair but if the deal moves forward, Reyna cannot afford to have it go bad – for any reason.

 

Josh Sargent

 

Josh Sargent is still with Norwich after a proposed transfer to Wolfsburg fell through. One report said Norwich wanted too much money. A second wave of reports is that Sargent didn’t want to relocate his family back to Germany – where he began his professional career with Werder Bremen.

Despite this, the prevailing feeling is that Sargent will move this summer. Norwich’s parachute payments are over and they’re unlikely to push for promotion. But Sargent was the best No. 9 forward in the Championship last season. Norwich wants a lot of money for him.

 The problem for Sargent is that his value is going to decrease the more he shrinks the pool of prospective buyers. Germany seems to be out. There are even fewer teams in Italy, France, or Holland that can afford him. Maybe there are a few more in Spain, but still not a lot.

Right now, Sargent is hoping for either lower half Premier League teams, top Championship teams with parachute payments, or maybe Old Firm teams.

 

Tim Weah

 

Tim Weah isn’t in the plans anymore at Juventus under manager Igor Tudor, who was hired towards the end of last season. But things have become messy for Weah as he looks for a new club.

Weah’s agent Badou Sambaguè said that Weah turned down an offer from Nottingham Forest because he doesn’t want to go to the Premier League. Instead, Weah wants to move to Marseille in France. But the numbers from Marseille are insufficient for Juventus – both in terms of price tag and the fact they want to pay it in installments.

Juventus is now putting pressure on Weah saying: “Weah wants to go to Marseille but he needs to be careful: if the right offer doesn’t come, then there’s a risk of being left on the sidelines."



It’s easy to see everyone’s perspective. Weah is likely a starter for many Ligue 1 teams. In the Premier League, he’s a useful backup and occasional situational starter. But Juventus wants money and Premier League teams can pay a lot more money.

Yet again, another game of chicken. But Weah cannot afford to remain at a club where he’s not wanted during a World Cup year. The latest report is that Marseille is going to increase it’s offer – which is impressive for Weah, who has only played 2000 minutes per season once.

 

Matt Turner

 

In a time of messy transfers, Matt Turner is in the mix for the worst. Back with his parent club Nottingham Forest after spending last season on loan with Cystal Palace, Turner had a move to Lyon in France in place but Lyon changed their minds and are trying to hire lawyers to get out of it.

The problems are two-fold. First, Lyon has an austerity plan under its new ownership (Turner’s move was agreed under the previous ownership) that limits spending. Second, the new management doesn’t view Turner as a No. 1 and he is too expensive to be a No. 2.

This is a disaster, and Turner continues to move from club to club where he’s not seen as a starter. Last season at Palace, he was the starter for the early rounds of the FA Cup. But once the club’s run got more serious, he was benched – again.

Now there is the big twist. The New England Revolution have come back into the mix and have said they will take back Turner, who began his pro career with the Revs.

Per L’Equipe, Turner will transfer to Lyon but will be immediately loaned to New England. It is a weird move for a lot of reasons. First, the Revolution are not good at all – having won just once out of their last 15 games. Second, the Revolution has many problems, but goalkeeping isn’t one of them as Aljaž Iva?i? has played well.

Why are the Revolution spending this much time and energy to fix something that isn’t a problem for them?

It’s a great move for Turner, Lyon, Nottingham Forest, and the USMNT. Turner needs games, and it doesn’t really matter where he plays as long as he plays. Lyon get out of a deal they regretted. Forest loses a player they didn’t want. And the USMNT gets another goalkeeper playing games.

As for the Revs, it doesn’t make much sense. But they are stepping to the plate and helping a former player and the USMNT.

 

Cole Campbell

 

Top U.S. U-20 winger Cole Campbell is also in the middle of situation at Borussia Dortmund that is not pretty. Two weeks ago, it seemed as if a nice transfer was lined up for the youngster to move to VfB Stuttgart. The fee discussed was €7 million, which is a lot of money for a player with limited first team experience.

Now, the move might be off as BVB is concerned that it might not have enough wingers to start the Bundesliga season. The problem is that BVB recently sold Jamie Gittens to Chelsea and Julien Duranville suffered a long-term injury. If Campbell is let go, BVB will need to spend a lot of money to bring in wingers in August.

A good perspective on this is that Campbell might have an avenue for playing, regardless of what team he is on. But another perspective is that Campbell’s game is centered around his lightening speed. He is still a little bit of a project to coach up to the Bundesliga level – but his upside is big.

This will continue to play out in August.

 

Bryan Reynolds

 

Bryan Reynolds is now the subject of a rumor for a move from Westerlo to Hoffenheim after Hoffenheim right back Valentin Gendrey fractured his ankle. It’s not the ideal situation for a player to move because Gendrey will eventually return. But for Reynolds, he needs to make a move after three seasons with the small Belgian club. It is still a situation that could then open further doors.



 

Yunus Musah

 

Yunus Musah is having an up and down preseason with AC Milan and that comes at a time when he is also being shopped for a new club. But Milan are asking for a lot of money, reportedly between €25-30 million. We heard of interest from Premier League teams and Napoli. But then Napoli walked and everything went quiet.

But now there are reports Milan are considering lowering the price and that Napoli is back being interested.



But Musah needs a new team and a clean slate. He fell out of favor towards the end of last season and his current preseason hasn’t been great. He struggled badly against Arsenal. Against Liverpool he didn’t make as many mistakes, but also didn’t make a positive influence as he was quiet. In some good news, he scored in a 9-0 win over Perth Glory on Wednesday.



There is still a market for Musah, but Milan needs to get realistic and drop the price. Musah still has flaws in his game that should be concerning for him at the highest level. Is he a better player now than when he was at Valencia?

 

Pepi & Bajraktarevic shine for PSV

 

PSV defeated second tier city rivals FC Eindhoven 3-2 in a friendly on Wednesday. PSV sat many regulars to prepare for the Super Cup this weekend and Sergino Dest was one of those who didn’t play.

But USMNT forward Ricardo Pepi started as he continues to return from injury and former New England Revolution winger Esmir Bajraktarevic also started. Bajraktarevic was born and raised in Wisconsin and spent significant time with U.S. youth national teams before eventually earning a full national team cap in January 2024. Last summer, however, he switched his affiliation to play for Bosnia.

Pepi and Bajraktarevic, who both developed with MLS clubs, had very good games to build their case to be starters this season. Pepi scored the opening goal on a play that was created by highly impressive skill from Bajraktarevic. But Pepi’s turn and finish was also reflective of high-quality.



Then on the team’s third goal, it was Pepi again with Bajraktarevic instrumental in the build-up with a backheel pass just before the ball crossed the end line.



The good news for the USMNT is that Pepi looks both back and ready. He should give the USMNT a huge boost in the fall at center forward.

As for Bajraktarevic, he might go down as a significant loss to the USMNT program. He’s a very skillful winger. But if the MLS pipeline continues, it will still be the biggest source of developing young American talent. The will be more coming through the system, just be on the lookout for it.

 

Balogun scores vs. Torino

 

Folarin Balogun needs a big preseason for Monaco. 2025 has been a bad year for the USMNT forward as he started the year on the shelf for a December shoulder injury. Monaco purchased Mika Biereth when Balogun was injured and Biereth turned into a sensational goal scorer. On top of that, Breel Embolo remained highly effective as well.

There is concern for Balogun’s minutes right now. But on Thursday, he scored in a 3-1 win over Torino.



It is still a battle for Balogun and one goal against Torino isn’t going to change much. He needs to be consistently good.

 

Pulisic nears new deal

 

It’s been reportedly all year that Christian Pulisic was nearing a new deal with Milan. Now it appears to be close – running through 2029 and giving him a raise from €4 million to €5 million net per season.



Now it’s about getting Milan back to the point where they can win the scudetto.

As for his preseason, he didn’t play against Perth due to a minor ankle injury.

 

Tessmann impresses for Lyon

 

Tanner Tessmann started for Lyon in an easy 4-0 win over Mallorca in a game where all the goals were scored in the first half. The 2024 Olympic team captain is now wearing No. 6 and is dropping as a deeper playmaker. Is passing range is impressive and it will be interesting to see him grow in this role.

 

Eintracht’s U.S. tour continues

 

Eintracht Frankfurt has four Americans on its preseason roster: Paxten Aaronson, youngster Marvin Dills, Timmy Chandler, and Nene Brown. The tour began with a 2-2 draw against Aston Villa followed by a 5-2 win over Louisville City (Louisville actually had a 2-1 lead in the second half before a wave of substitutions for both teams). Finally, they will conclude the tour on Saturday against the Philadelphia Union.

In the 5-2 win over Louisville City, Eintracht took the lead for good in the 70th minute on a goal from Dills, a 2007-born American attacker.



It will be interesting to watch Aaronson take a bigger role in his return home against the Union to face his first club. This is an important preseason for him to carve out a meaningful role within the team.

As for Brown, he was interviewed by the club’s official site and downplayed any prospect of him playing for the United States. He said there has been contact between him and U.S. Soccer but he said he was born in Germany and is playing for Germany’s U-21 team now – thereby indicated he wanted to remain on that path.

 

Busio addresses Venezia’s crowd

 

Venezia had a preseason rally at the stadium ahead of the Serie B campaign (where they were relegated last season), and Gianluca Busio addressed the crowd and spoke of his role within the team.  

"First of all, thank you all for being here,” Busio said. “It's an honor to be here playing for this club and playing in front of you. Do the fans want to win? Me too. Fifth year in a row, do I feel Venetian? Yes, I do now. This year I'll have to be a leader on and off the pitch."

It’s hard to believe he is heading into his fifth year at the club. He joined Venezia shortly after winning the 2021 Gold Cup. It’s also admirable he has stayed with the club with two relegations and promotions. But it would also be nice to see him try something different.

 

Other games

 

Tyler Adams played the final 14 minutes for AFC Bournemouth in a 4-1 loss to Manchester United at Soldier Field in Chicago. The game was played in driving rain and this was first game for Adams since his return to the club following the Gold Cup.

Erik Palmer-Brown started for Panathinaikos in the second leg of a Champions League qualifier against Rangers on Wednesday. The game ended 1-1 with Panathinaikos losing 3-1 on aggregate. Regardless, it is good to see Palmer-Brown back healthy.

Taylor Booth has been a regular for Twente this preseason as he continues to start. The Utah native started and played into the second half in a 1-0 win over RKC Waalwijk.

Kevin Paredes played the second half for Wolfsburg in a 1-0 loss to Mallorca on Wednesday. He was part of a wave of substitutions at halftime, when the score was 0-0. For Paredes, it’s all about staying healthy.

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