Weston_mckennie_-_asn_top_-_juventus_handshake_celebration_-_2-1-26
Evening kickaround

McKennie & Tillman lead a wave of big performances Abroad

ASN's Brian Sciaretta with his thoughts on the eventful week for Americans abroad - both on and off the field. 
BY Brian Sciaretta Posted
February 03, 2026
3:00 PM

THE EUROPEAN TRANSFER WINDOW is closed, the weekend is long over, and some important storylines have emerged. The good news is that over the weekend there was a string of good performances from American players. The lack of activity in the transfer window was to be expected in a World Cup year.

Here are some thoughts.

 

McKennie was stellar

 

Weston McKennie has taken his game to an entirely different level and has emerged as one of the best Juventus players over the past two months. He is now making big plays in just about every game playing a variety of positions.

On Sunday, Juventus defeated Parma 4-1 and this came on the heels of a win over Napoli in the previous game. Weston McKennie’s 37th minute made the score 2-0. McKennie played 73 minutes as was at the heart of the best Juventus chances on the day.       



From 2024 and into the first half of 2025, McKennie struggled but starting in the first half of the season, he has simply been playing the best soccer of his career.

But it is going to be fascinating to watch as his contract with Juventus expires this summer. McKennie is forcing Juventus, or any other team, to pay a lot of money for his services. At the age of 27, this is likely to be his last deal before the age of 30. He needs to cash in.

But for now, this pursuit of a new contract is likely helping him stay motivated right up to the World Cup. The stars are aligning nicely for Weston McKennie.

 

Tillman sparks Germany turnaround

 

Until recently, this was not a good season for Americans in Germany. On balance, there are still concerns. But this past weekend was a huge step in the right direction.

It started with Malik Tillman who was first-rate for Bayer Leverkusen in a 3-1 away win over Eintracht Frankfurt. He was part of the build-up to the first goal and he scored the second.

This came on the heels of scoring a goal midweek in a win over Villarreal in the Champions League.

Up to this past week, it was a mixed season for Tillman who played like a decent but not exceptional No. 10 playmaker in the Bundesliga. But after Bayer Leverkusen spent somewhere between €35 million and €40 million on Tillman, the expectation is that he would be a top-level playmaker in the league. Until this week, he had been well short of that.



Until now. This past week Tillman has delivered in a big way and look far more comfortable than he has since joining Bayer Leverkusen.

He’s yet another player who is trending upward at the right time  

Tillman is a safe bet to make the World Cup team, but he is not a lock to start. It depends on how Pochettino wants to play. But like all other players, if he continues to play well, his chances of seeing the field are increased.

 

Busio earning respect

 

Venezia are sitting atop the Serie B table after a 2-1 win over Carrarese with Gianluca Busio scoring the opening goal in the 25th minute. That win kept Venezia atop the table to end the weekend.  

How good has Busio been exactly? This report from Tutto Mercato analyzed the match ratings from Serie B games this season and wrote up the top 20 players in terms of average ratings.

Gianluca Busio was ranked the second best player in the league.



That is very impressive and his very impressive season comes under the radar given it is in a second tier league, but unlike his first several years with Venezia, he is now leading the club. He is not just another supporting player.

It is tough timing for Busio in how it relates to making the World Cup this year. The team trended upward in the fall without him, and Mauricio Pochettino has said the time for evaluating “newer” players is over. For Busio, given the length of time since his last call-up, he is likely on the outside.

But in six months the U.S. national team will be starting another cycle with likely another coach. Busio is 23 now and will be 27 in the build-up to the 2030 World Cup. He very much can break into that team.

The main goal for Busio is leading Venezia back to Serie A and keeping them there.

 

Championship promotion race

 

One of the more positive stories in the world of Americans abroad has been the promotion race in the Championship. Right now, Coventry and Middlesbrough are in the top two positions – even on points. Haji Wright features for Coventry while Aidan Morris is a key part of the Middlesbrough midfield. Meanwhile, Derby is only two points out of the playoffs in seventh place and Patrick Agyemang is behind the team’s rise in recent months.

 Despite Wright’s back-to-back games with goals on January 17 and January 20, he is still not fully back yet and even came off the bench on Saturday in the 2-1 loss to Queens Park Rangers.

On the other hand, Aidan Morris is playing great soccer for Middlesbrough and the club has now won five in a row. Morris is a key player in the club’s midfield and once again delivered in a 1-0 win over Norwich to climb even on points for first.



Then there is Agyemang, who added a goal for Derby County in a 5-0 pounding of Bristol City. He now has nine on the season (impressive given he had a late start after his hernia surgery).



It is going to be interesting to see how these three players all fit into the national team in the coming months. None are locks at this point for a World Cup roster spot and it would be surprising to see all three make the team in May.

Wright has a good shot given his versatility and his contributions to the team in the fall but he is not playing well. Agyemang is scoring goals but there might not be room for him, Folarin Balogun, and Ricardo Pepi on a team. Then Adian Morris has been super consistent and could very well be playing Premier League minutes next season.

Morris is also at an age where he will still be in his prime at age 28 next cycle.

 

Transfer window

 

The transfer window ended for most European leagues and the big news is that Ricardo Pepi did not move to Fulham. From a national team perspective, this is fine. Once he returns from his arm injury, he will only have about two months remaining in the season before World Cup preparations. What is most important to him is that he play and is comfortable and confident heading into the summer.

It would have been nice to see Pepi move as Fulham would have played him if they paid a lot of money for him but that move should still be there for him in the summer if he continues to do well.

But most of the other U.S. national team players, aside from Alex Freeman, elected to stay put. Max Arfsten and Diego Luna were two rumored names but both likely did not want to risk adjusting to a new environment ahead of potentially the biggest tournament in their lives.

Outside of the national team, there were a few surprising names that did not move. Caleb Wiley was one who reasonably could have expected to move given it is unlikely he plays at Chelsea after his loan to Watford was terminated. But it raises the question what is the plan now? If he can’t move within Europe, he could move to a place such as in MLS to get playing time.

Peyton Miller had interest from Europe in the fall but will remain with New England under his recent U.S. U-20 World Cup coach, Marko Mitrovic.

 

More good news on the field

 

In terms of action on the field late, Tim Weah made a terrific play to assist on the opening goal of Marseille’s 3-0 win over Rennes in the Coupe de France. He won the ball back by forcing a turnover before assisting Amie Gouri.



Up next for Weah is a trip to face his first club, Paris St. Germain, this weekend.

Over the weekend, Folarin Balogun also had a good performance against Rennes when he assisted and help set up another goal for Monaco in a 4-0 win. He had to leave the game with hamstring tightness that seemed to be precautionary.

Tanner Tessmann continues to be in great form for Lyon as he went the distance in a 1-0 win over Lille. Lyon continues its great run in both Ligue 1 and in the Europa League. Right now, he looks like he could see a lot of minutes at the World Cup.

Mark McKenzie also went all 90 minutes for Toulouse in an otherwise disappointing 0-0 draw with Auxerre, who are in the relegation zone. But McKenzie is having a good season and Toulouse is now in eighth place.

In Spain, Johnny Cardoso played the full 90 for Atletico Madrid in a 0-0 away draw with Levente. He’s playing, but probably still needs to do more in order to remain in the club’s long-term plans as a starter.

In Germain, Gio Reyna is injured but Joe Scally is still starting for Borussia Monchengladbach. Scally played 84 minutes in a 1-1 draw with Werder Breman and was subbed out with his team up 1-0. Overall, it was a much improved outing from the previous weekend when he was poor in a 3-0 loss to Stuttgart. Despite that, Scally seems like he is on the outside of the U.S. national team picture for the World Cup.

It was somewhat surprising to see Noahkai Banks in the starting lineup for Augsburg over the weekend given that his club defeated Bayern Munich the weekend before while Banks was suspended. But Banks returned to the lineup and played well in a 2-1 win over St. Pauli. This was a massive win that should keep Augsburg away from the relegation zone for awhile.

Banks has real chance to earn a call-up in March. From there, a World Cup roster spot would be within reach.

Lennard Maloney won’t make the World Cup team but he is doing what he can to help Mainz in its relegation battle. On Saturday, he went 19 minutes in helping Mainz fight off Leipzig in a big 2-1 upset win. That put Mainz out of the automatic relegation spots and into the relegation playoff position. Maloney is certainly a scrapper that fights for everything in his career. It is not glamorous but he does a lot of little things right.

Kristoffer Lund is another player who likely won’t make the World Cup team (given that Pochettino hasn’t brought him back since his first camp) but he had one of his better outings of the season in a 1-0 win over Wolfsburg.

 

The Struggles

 

Yunus Musah did not get off the bench for Atalanta in a 0-0 draw at Como. His playing time is still so inconsistent and that can’t help but leave the impression that his World Cup hopes aren’t great as we start February.

Staying in Serie A, Benja Cremaschi did not get off the bench for Parma in the loss to Juventus. His loan there has been very disappointing.

In the Premier League, Antonee Robinson returned from in injury in December and played great soccer right off the bat. But after playing complete games for a month, his performances lately have started to dip for Fulham. On Sunday he went 71 minutes in a 3-2 loss to Manchester United. Given his injury history, it is worth following to see how he is physically with the World Cup approaching.

Staying in the Premier League, Brenden Aaronson is having a very important season in his career but over the weekend both he and his teammates were shown the gap between a team surviving in the Championship and a team aiming for the title. Leeds was outclassed in a 4-0 loss.

In the Bundesliga, James Sands and St. Pauli are in trouble after the loss to Augsburg. The team now sits second to last and is now four points from the relegation playoff position. Sands is at St. Pauli on loan from NYCFC and if St. Pauli is relegated, he might return to NYCFC.

In the 2.Bundesliga, John Tolkin and Holstein Kiel suffered a terrible 2-1 loss at home to last place Greuther Furth. Tolkin is competing against Antonee Robinson and Max Arfsten for a World Cup spot. It seems like a tough climb with his team mired in the lower half of Germany’s second tier (only four points clear of the bottom three). Unfortunately, when he made the jump to Holstein Kiel last year, there were risks going to a team in the relegation zone of the Bundesliga.

Santiago Castaneda was pulled at half-time for Paderborn in a 2-1 loss to Fortuna Dusseldorf. Paderborn is only two points out of the promotion playoff spot in the 2.Bundesliga but Castaneda is in jeopardy of losing his starting job.

Post a comment