It has become something of an annual ritual for Weston McKennie. Every year, he reports to Juventus for preseason, where there is usually a new manager -- and said manager arrives with a healthy skepticism about the American midfielder's game.
Perhaps the club's books need some balancing, or there's a new prospect who the manager thinks will supplant the American. Perhaps some old off-field missteps from McKennie result in the manager's reservations taking further root.
But rather than fold, McKennie delivers. Every time.
"I feel like I'm kind of used to it throughout my career, not just at Juventus," McKennie told ESPN about the doubts that surround him during at a promotional event for Truly Hard Seltzer. "I think just throughout [my career], even in my youth, I've had that. So, I feel like I'm pretty comfortable in that position and I know how to get out of that position."
This season, McKennie has done far better than simply "get out of that position." By just about any measure, he is having a dream season with the Italian giants, and that also bodes well for the U.S. men's national team at this summer's World Cup.
McKennie's 15 goal contributions for Juventus in all competitions have obliterated his previous season high of 10, set in 2023-24. That current mark is also second on the team, trailing only the 20 contributions by Kenan Yildiz, an attacking midfielder.
McKennie's versatility has been vital to Juve as well -- he has played just about every position on the field, except center back and goalkeeper. Perhaps most impressive of all, though, is how he has earned the trust of Juve manager Luciano Spalletti, resulting in McKennie signing a new four-year contract, and putting the U.S. international in a good state of mind ahead of the World Cup.
"It's a strong person who makes a strong footballer," Spalletti told reporters earlier this year. "McKennie has this attitude, this way of meeting you halfway, like he's saying: 'You ask, I'll do.' He starts and becomes effective.
"You can tell he faced his fears when he was young because to become brave, you have to face what scares you. He tries plays that wouldn't normally be a part of his repertoire, but he still tries them."
McKennie's U.S. teammates also have noticed, though the overriding emotion is more comfort than surprise. They know that when the whistle blows this summer at the World Cup, McKennie's form means they can rely on him to raise his game to the level needed, and he can even pull the team along with him.
"Weston is just someone that you can never count out," U.S. teammate Christian Pulisic told ESPN during a promotional event for Degree. "I mean, there's always talk about Weston, even when he was not sure if he was going to go back to Juventus or whatnot. But then he comes back and he quietly plays and does his thing and everyone sees how good he is.
"I mean, that's just Weston. I never really doubt him. We all know what he can do, what kind of person he is. So it just doesn't surprise me. It's impressive, but at the same time, knowing him, it just doesn't surprise."
Pulisic doesn't doubt McKennie, but plenty of coaches have. In fact, just about every manager who took the helm of Juve since the Little Elm, Texas, native joined the club in 2020 has at some point wanted to get rid of him.
Under Massimiliano Allegri, McKennie was sent out on loan to Leeds United in early 2023, where he became a lightning rod for fans in Leeds' ultimately doomed bid to avoid relegation. When McKennie returned for preseason later that year, he found he'd lost his locker and his parking spot.
The following season he was told by then-manager Thiago Motta that he wouldn't be needed. The year after that, Igor Tudor was less skeptical but still had his share of critiques about the American player. McKennie eventually won over all of them, an outcome to which the 27-year-old has long been accustomed.
"That's life in general," he said. "You have to continuously try to prove yourself and show why you need to be there or why they should have you there. So, I don't always see it as a bad thing. I think it is what it is. That comes with the territory, it comes with a job and competitive sport."
As for how a player of McKennie's talent and background continually finds himself in such a position, there are reasons for some of the misgivings.
Probably the biggest factor is that at times he has shown a lack discipline off the field. In 2021, he was fined and faced sanctions by Juventus after he hosted a party with two teammates in violation of COVID-19 protocols. Later that year, he was suspended by U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter ahead of a World Cup qualifier for another similar violation.
For Austin FC coach Nico Estevez, who saw McKennie up close when he was an assistant with the U.S. during the 2022 World Cup cycle, it's part of the maturation process.
"We all have been young, we all have been in moments where we haven't done the correct thing," Estevez said. "But I think the good thing about Weston, when you know him, you know that he's such a good guy, that he doesn't do things with any bad intention."
But sources told ESPN that McKennie also developed a reputation for not maintaining his fitness and enjoying the nightlife too much. McKennie himself acknowledged during an interview with TNT that it was at Tudor's urging that he pay closer attention to his diet, which set the table for his success this season.
The partying wouldn't seem to be the kind of dealbreaker that would cause a manager to give up on a player, but an inability to stay fit can collectively stick to a player's reputation like flypaper. Shedding that perception this season required McKennie to put in extra work.
"I got out of it by doing what I do best, and kind of putting my head down and working, and then continuously believing in myself," McKennie said.
McKennie's cause was helped by a pair of factors, the biggest being his versatile talent. There remains plenty to admire about his game, including his box-to-box running, his late runs into the box, and his ability to play killer passes into the attacking third. All of this happens no matter what position he plays.
"He's kind of like a street player," Estevez said about McKennie. "It's in the difficult moments where he doesn't feel that pressure, he can make plays. In the final third, he's very creative in the way that he attacks the box. He has that instinct that is required. And when he's in tight spaces and there's not much to think there is when he can make some plays that are different and he can make the difference in those moments."
But the other key factor comes off the field: McKennie is a likable guy. Teammates and coaches say he brings a light, wise-cracking vibe to the locker room. Chris Armas, who now coaches the Kansas City Current in the NWSL, saw both sides of McKennie's personality even during the difficulties of the relegation fight at Leeds, where Armas was an assistant coach during McKennie's brief spell at the club.
"In the team, he just was a guy that brings a lot of joy every day to the group," Armas said. "So if you see him, you see him smiling a lot and laughing a lot, but he turns the switch on quickly because he's so competitive and wants to win at everything he does. That's what I was able to see."
But there's one surprise X factor helping McKennie's rise: He appears to have hit it off with Spalletti in a way that he hasn't with previous managers. It obviously helped that McKennie was already enjoying a fine season when Spalletti replaced Tudor in November, but in this instance, the new manager arrived without the usual skepticism.
McKennie says the two have bonded on a deeper level.
"He's the best coach I've had in my career so far," McKennie said. "That's not just because I've been playing good under him and I've been having success under him. I just think he really knows the game and understands the game and has the ability to [connect]. So when he walks in the room and speaks about the game and speaks about life in general, he can control the room. Everyone wants to listen to what he has to say."
The 'Futbol Americas' crew discuss the USMNT's form going into the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
More recently, McKennie has navigated similar challenges with the national team, to a degree, as the ones he has faced at the club level.
McKennie was among the U.S. players who delivered a poor performance at the 2025 Concacaf Nations League finals. Defeats to Panama and Canada saw the U.S. finish in a disappointing fourth place, at which point coach Mauricio Pochettino essentially started from scratch, vowing no player was guaranteed anything.
McKennie was subsequently left off the roster for the September window but returned in October. Spalletti's arrival just before the November window meant Pochettino opted to let McKennie settle in with his new manager. For a spell, that created some uncertainty in terms of what Pochettino thought about the midfielder. What isn't in question is that Pochettino's message has been received by McKennie.
"I think [Pochettino] brings a different vibe, a different outlook on things, which I think he really wants it to be a family environment, but also be a healthy, competitive environment as well," McKennie said. "And I think that's something that probably needed to change or that is helping us as well, because nobody has a secure spot, nobody is safe, and you have to compete for the spot that you want.
"I think that's an amazing thing to have because then you get healthy competition, but at the same time, you guys are all fighting for the common goal, and that's for the team to have success because nobody is bigger than the team."
Pochettino also seemed to question where McKennie belonged. McKennie had been a No. 8 in the midfield under Berhalter, but in Pochettino's system, he has been pushed further forward, closer to the central striker.
It's a move that seems to suit McKennie, given the player's stronger attacking instincts. But one now senses that Pochettino, for all of his insistence that the team is the star, now has a greater comfort level with McKennie.
That could prove critical in terms of the U.S. hopes at the World Cup this summer. If the U.S. is to achieve its dream of a deep tournament run, McKennie will need to be at the heart of it.
"When the team needs some different option in a different position, he can provide that. Yes, I am so happy," Pochettino said in March about McKennie. "I think he's very focused and he was training really well and yes, I think he's an important player.
"It's not new for us. And being in the level that we have seen him, he's a good player and he can have the option -- no, the big option -- [for him] to be on the roster."
What does McKennie think his best position is?
"My best position is wherever the coach tells me to play," he said.
On that front, there is little doubt.
