WE ARE IN A transitional time right now in Europe where some leagues are still in preseason, some leagues have already started, and the transfer window is still wide open. But it is still an important time for all of the American players (and coaches) involved.

Overall, it’s been a pretty lackluster preseason for the top American players. Top players like Christian Pulisic, Sergino Dest, Tyler Adams, and Tim Weah have all been mixed without any real big moments. Gio Reyna is only now just getting back on the field while Weston McKennie looks as if he going to be on the shelf for a while – and that is now the top story with regards to the national team.

McKennie injured

Weston McKennie has not been playing for Juventus this preseason and his lack of involvement hasn’t been specifically mentioned. But the picture is starting to come into focus, and reports in Italy are not good.

Juventus announced that McKennie underwent tests which "revealed a capsular lesion of the left shoulder" – the second time he had dealt with a shoulder injury in Italy. A timetable for return is not easy to determine. Juventus said " three weeks’ differentiated work will be required." But some reports are saying 4-6 weeks, others reports are predicting a few months. But then there are questions about what his condition will be when he returns. McKennie is a physical player and a weak shoulder could have a big impact in the way he plays.

McKennie will do whatever he can to be able to play in the World Cup, but if needed, can surgery be delayed until after the World Cup?

It remains to be seen if the Texan will be back for the September friendlies, but he has missed so much time this year that rust and fitness should start to be a concern. With the World Cup roster expanding to 26 players, Gregg Berhalter should consider stocking up on midfielders. Even if McKennie can go to Qatar, a subpar McKennie is a huge loss to the U.S. team.

Aaronson’s jaw-dropping assist

Brendan Aaronson and Tyler Adams got the start for Leeds United in their final preseason friendly against Cagliari of Serie B. Leeds United won 6-2 with Rodrigo notching a hat trick and Patrick Bramford adding a brace.

But Brendan Aaronson turned heads in this game with three assists. His pass to set up Bramford on the team’s third goal was the play of the game because it also included a run through the midfield before hitting a pass on the outside of the boot.

This pass from Brenden Aaronson. Whoa… pic.twitter.com/VWcjYSpdiT

— Brian Sciaretta (@BrianSciaretta) July 31, 2022

Aaronson looks prepared to take on a big role with Leeds and should be a starter from the start of the season. He has developed into such a well-rounded player with his passing, pressing, defense, and dribbling. He should only continue to get better as he adjusts to the Premier League.

Aaronson an assist off a #WPIOOTBGW https://t.co/HTkEty1RRG

— Brian Sciaretta (@BrianSciaretta) July 31, 2022

 
De la Fuente & Che on the move?

Two players likely on the move in the coming week or two are Konrad de la Fuente and Justin Che.

Konrad de la Fuente had a strong preseason last year after moving to Marseille from Barcelona but faded after the first few weeks of the season. Marseille remains one of the top teams in France this season and De la Fuente needs to head out. Several teams are still being discussed but one is Real Valladolid in Spain. Valladolid recently earned promotion back into La Liga.

El Valladolid está a punto de conseguir la cesión de Konrad, delantero del O. Marsella. Más info en @diarioas

— Manu Sainz (@Manu_Sainz) July 30, 2022

Justin Che, meanwhile, has had a tough year. In January he went on loan to Hoffenheim from FC Dallas for 18 months but minutes are not there. Since Hoffenheim do not own his contract, they cannot send him on loan. Other teams are being discussed to send Che to and it seems as if it will be a separate loan with Hoffenheim ending the loan for the FC Dallas defender. Che is in a spot where he needs to go to a place where he will receive good tactical coaching and minutes. He is athletically gifted but is a bit of a project. Whoever takes him will need a realistic option to buy for incentive purposes.

Reyna starts

It has been a tough preseason for many of the top American players, but there was a bit of good news on Saturday in that Gio Reyna returned to the field to start a friendly vs. Turkey’s Antalyaspor – who started fellow American Haji Wright.

Reyna played the first half and Wright played 76 minute of a 1-1 draw.

Reyna played well, albeit tentatively on the physical side. His dribbling and passing, however, were sharp and effective. He was even part of the build-up to the Julian Brandt goal in the eighth minute.

The good news is that the rust wasn’t too apparent. He probably won’t start for Borussia Dortmund in the early parts of the season but the club probably has a plan to gradually get him back to being a consistent starter.

For Wright, it was a quiet outing without anything too much to note.

Yanks in Championship openers

Many Americans were on the field for the Championship opening weekend. Here is a look at the top stories.

Trusty vs. Horvath

Auston Trusty and Ethan Horvath both made their club debuts for their respective clubs. Auston Trusty was in central defense for Birmingham City in what was also his debut in Europe after beginning his career in MLS (first with Philadelphia and last with Colorado). In January he was sold to Arsenal but loaned back to Colorado. Now he is on loan at Birmingham City.

Meanwhile, Ethan Horvath is in a battle to make the United States World Cup team this fall as the third goalkeeper. He is now on loan at Luton Town from Nottingham Forest after years as a backup there and at Club Brugge.

In what was a good scoreline for both players, the game ended 0-0 in Luton. Horvath made three saves, although none were challenging.

Trusty, however, had a great debut and was one of the best players on the field – winning duels, aerials, tackles, and providing clearances. This was a good step for Trusty who had a tough first half of 2022 with Colorado and did not look ready for the jump. Perhaps he just needed a change of scenery. Birmingham City is a good place for him to go on loan because the club is trying to rebound from a poor 2021/22 season where it narrowly avoided relegation and were one of the worst defensive teams in the Championship.

Trusty has been inconsistent in MLS but at times, he was a strong defender. Establishing consistency with Birmingham City will help change the narrative of his career and perhaps open doors internationally in a few years.

Steffen vs. Dike

Middlesbrough hosted West Brom on Saturday in a matchup of two teams with promotional hopes. Zack Steffen made his debut for Boro after recently joining the club on loan from Manchester City. Daryl Dike, meanwhile, was on the bench for West Brom after a strong preseason following a long-term injury in January.

The teams ended up playing to a 1-1 draw.

Zack Steffen played well and was not at fault for the unsavable West Brom goal. The former Crew goalkeeper made three saves – all from inside the box – and did not appear to be too rusty. As he is attempting to return to being a No. 1 and build his case to start in Qatar, he made a good first step on Saturday – although bigger tests await.

Dike, meanwhile, only played the final 12 minutes and had little impact off the bench. He was just one for four in passing and had a shot over eight touches. He struggled to help his team in the build-up in the attack. Dike had a strong preseason but his appearance off the bench wasn’t much of a surprise given that he was playing through a groin injury the past week. Dike’s chances of Qatar are still alive but it is a matter of getting hot at the right time. That needs to start soon.

Sargent & Norwich fall

Josh Sargent and Norwich City were poor in their opening weekend in a 1-0 loss to Coventry City on the road. It only fueled speculation from Canary supporters that the club is not poised for a quick return to the Premier League.

Sargent started at right wing with Teemu Pukki playing the No. 9 role. Norwich’s front line was completely ineffective and it puts into question what there is to learn about Sargent on the wing. He will get his chances and he has to finish them, but Sargent is not in a comfortable role. With Pukki now 32, Sargent will also get chances to start his preferred position over the 46-game season. But he does not look comfortable and is forcing the issue these days.

His World Cup hopes seem to fade with each passing week as other forwards are producing.

One other note about this game is that Norwich central defender Grant Handley was given a red card at the end of the game and this could open the door for U.S. U-23 age central defender Jonathan Tomkinson to start soon for his professional debut.

Gooch assists for Sunderland

Lynden Gooch, 26, started for Sunderland in its return to the Championship against Coventry and the Santa Cruz native assisted on Sunderland’s opening goal in the 12^th minute of a 1-1 draw. Gooch played as right wingback and had other moments in addition to the assist where he was effective getting forward.

This assist from Lynden Gooch is class https://t.co/kFC4V8xxxv

— Brian Sciaretta (@BrianSciaretta) July 31, 2022

Gooch has been affiliated with Sunderland since he was 10 years old and has stuck by the club through two relegations and now a promotion. It would be a great story if he could continue to help lead the club back to prominence.

Huddersfield & Holmes struggle

The Championship season got underway on Friday when Huddersfield fell to Burnley at home 1-0. American attacking midfielder Duane Holmes, 27, started and played 57 minutes for Huddersfield. Huddersfield was outplayed despite the close score. Burnley had 73% possession in the first half and Huddersfield was booed as they left the field.

For Holmes, he was very quiet and wasn’t able to help his team in possession. Holmes had just 21 touches and was 8/10 in passing to have little effect on the game. Holmes is a very streaky player but can be invisible when he’s not on his game. This was such a game. Uneven play is also why he has been called up to the U.S. team just once. With the U.S. team having a lot of central midfielders making cases (many are young as well), Holmes might never get back into that team.

Covil debuts

Vaughn Covil, 19, made his first team debut for Hull City when he played the final six minutes for Hull City in a 2-1 win over Bristol City. He was on the field for the winning goal although wasn’t involved in the goal. He had just four touches and was 1/1 in passing.

Covil played for the United States at the U-16 level in one call-up. Born in 2003, he is eligible for the United States U-20 team for next year’s U-20 World Cup.

Congratulations to Vaugh Covil on his 1st team debut for Hull City in the Championship opening 2-1 win vs Bristol City. Covil, 18, repped the US at the U-16 level. This surprised me as last season he was loaned out into the 7th tier. The winger is eligible for the U.S U-20 team https://t.co/0k82QXdfwC

— Brian Sciaretta (@BrianSciaretta) July 30, 2022

This debut is a surprise given that last year he was sent on loan to the seventh tier in England and then was out of contract after his time with Forest Green Rovers before Hull City picked him up. From seemingly out of the pro levels of the game recently, it is an impressive turnaround to make his debut in Hull City’s opening day win.

Bassett bags equalizer

Cole Bassett came off the bench for Feyenoord in the 85^th minute with his team trailing La Liga’s Osasuna 1-0. Two minutes later, the Colorado native hit an equalizer. Unfortunately, Osasuna found a stoppage time winner but it was good for Bassett to make that statement at a point where there are questions surrounding his club situation. Bassett has always been opportunistic with coming up with big plays in big moments and this helped to remind Feyenoord about that.

Bassett, who turned 21 this week, is on loan at Feyenoord from Colorado and Feyenoord holds an option to buy. Feyenoord still believes in Bassett and wanted to send him out on another loan to get more playing time. But since he is at Feyenoord on loan, Feyenoord does not have the right to send him on loan. They would have to end the loan and Colorado would have to send him on another loan. But Feyenoord doesn’t want to end Bassett’s loan because they want to keep the option to buy. They just want to send him to play.

This means Bassett is still rated but is not in a position to play  - and it will take creativity to change that. The good news is that discussions are ongoing to find a solution for Feyenoord, Bassett, and Colorado.

Scottish Premiership Openers

There are a lot of Americans in the Scottish Premiership this year and here is how opening weekend fared for the Yanks in a mixed weekend.

Rangers defeated Livingston 2-1 in a game that featured three Americans.

For Rangers, Timothy Tillman came on to start the second half as Rangers were trailing 1-0. Tillman was making his Rangers debut and he was sharp. He helped keep Livingston on its back foot. Livingston had the lead but Rangers had a huge edge in talent. Eventually Livingston wore down and Tillman was part of the solution to eventually breakdown Livingston, even if he wasn’t part of either goal.

James Sands came into the game in the 67^th minute and also did well. In a situation where he had the ball in the backline and didn’t have much pressure, he was very effective in hitting long diagonals to switch the point of attack. With the ability to play defensive midfield and central defense, Sands gives Rangers options but breaking into the starting XI will be tough.

Both American players at Rangers should be confident to start the season. Both are in an uphill climb to make the roster for Qatar and it will be tough for them to standout playing in Scotland. The key will be how they do in European games and against Celtic.

On the flip side, Scott Pittman went the distance for Livingston and fought hard, but was overmatched. The son of former U.S. international Steve Pittlman, Scott is very popular with Livingston after playing nearly his whole career there.

Celtic defeated Aberdeen 2-0 on Sunday. Cameron Carter-Vickers started for Celtic and Dante Polvara started for Aberdeen. Both went a full 90.

Carter-Vickers continues to perform well for Celtic and he won 6/7 of his aerials and was also solid with his long balls – although Aberdeen was not putting much pressure on him when he had the pass. Carter-Vickers’ strength and experience in the Championship will have him succeed at Celtic for a long time. His chances of making the roster for Qatar are much stronger than they were at the start of the year with Mark McKenzie struggling. He probably is ahead of Erik Palmer-Brown after the last camp and John Brooks continues to be a wild card without a club into August.

Polvara, 21, meanwhile is fighting for a starting spot at Aberdeen in his first full season after joining the club in January. The former Georgetown Hoya is a 6’4” central midfielder with skill and once he adapts to the level should be fine. In this game, he managed to get 53 touches (which is good given the talent gap with Celtic) and he worked hard defensively although was beaten on numerous occassions. He should continue to start for them although he is till adapting to the professional game. 

Unfortunately, Christian Ramirez (despite a solid 2021/22 season) didn’t get off the bench as the new manger prefers Bojan Miovski at the No. 9

It was a poor start to the season for Ian Harkes and Dundee United. During Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Kilmarnock, the American midfielder was sent off in the 72^nd minute with his second yellow and will miss the next Scottish Premier League game.  He will be eligible for Thursday’s Conference League qualifier against AZ Alkmaar.

Motherwell was eliminated from the Conference League in embarrassing fashion last week in a 3-0 aggregate loss to Ireland’s Sligo Rovers. The start to the Scottish season was better for the squad which defeated St. Mirren 1-0 on the road. American winger Joe Efford came into the game in the 68^th minute but didn’t make much of an impact.

Vines continues strong start

Sam Vines is quietly off to a very strong start to the Belgian season with Royal Antwerp. On Sunday, he assisted to Michael Bailkwisha in the 68^th minute to lift Antwerp to a 1-0 win over Zlute Waregem. Last weekend Vines was strong in a 2-0 win over Mechelen.

It is true that Royal Antwerp’s two wins to start the season have come against two of the smallest teams in Belgium’s First Division A, but Vines is starting and playing well. He needs to show that he is furthering his career in his second full European season. So far, he has done that.

Vines is a player to watch for the U.S. national team. After Antonee Robinson, the back-up left back position is wide open. George Bello has faded and it is entirely possible that Gregg Berhalter sees Joe Scally as a right back. There also could be a reluctance to move Sergino Dest to left back.

Struggles in Belgium

The rest of the Americans in Belgium failed to earn significant minutes.

Mark McKenzie failed to get off the bench for Genk in a 3-1 win over Standard Liege. The good news for McKenzie is that he could move up the pecking order as Jhon Lucumi is rumored to be on the move soon. If that happens, McKenzie should get minutes. It might be too late for Qatar, but he has many, many years ahead of him.

Bryan Reynolds played just the final seven minutes for Westerlo in a 2-0 loss to Oud-Heverlee Leuven. The prospective U.S. U-23 right back is coming off a tough season and needs to settle in and play. Unfortunately, the “loan army” route is tough as coaches and environments change. Plus clubs tend to prefer existing options if things are equal. It’s too early to say Reynolds is not in a good spot, but he needs to take advantage of any opportunity to get on the field. Fellow American Griffin Yow is still working on visa issues to be allowed to play.

Elsewhere, Oostende’s Kyle Duncan is still serving his suspension for a straight red at the end of last season and he didn’t play in the club’s 2-1 win over Mechelen. Owen Otasowie was also an unused substitute for Club Brugge in its 2-1 upset loss to Eupen.

Busy in the German Cup

There was a lot of Americans involved in the German Cup’s opening weekend. Typically these games are tough to read as many of the Bundesliga clubs are facing teams from the very low Regionalliga and Oberliga divisions.

Joe Scally started on the right side for Borussia Monchengladbach in its 9-1 win over Oberachern of the Oberliga. The former NYCFC fullback scored the team’s eighth goal in the 59^th minute but was also beaten on a very nice goal from Nick Huber in the 61’s for Oberachern lone score.

Scally has the opportunity to make the World Cup team but it will clearly be better for him to be on the left side (where there is an opening) compared with the right side. Still, he is far more comfortable on the right and that seems to be where he will be used based on the preseason and this cup game. 

Terrence Boyd has had a nice start to the 2.Bundesliga season with Kaiserslautern with a goal and an assist in his first two games. Unfortunately for Boyd, Kaiserslautern is out of the German Cup following Saturday’s 2-1 extratime loss to Freiburg. Boyd started played 84 minutes.

It was a terrible performance from Greuther Furth which dropped a 2-0 loss to Stuttgart Kickers of the Regionalliga. Timothy Tillman started and played the full 90 minutes and Julian Green played the final 16 minutes. Furth hasn’t looked sharp at all after suffering relegation last season and neither player is close to the national team at the moment.

Head coach Pellegrino Matarazzo and VfB Stuttgart are through to the next round following a 1-0 win over Dynamo Dresden on Friday.

Augsburg defeated Oberliga side BW Lohne 4-0 on Sunday. Ricardo Pepi played the final 14 minutes and was on the field but did not contribute to the team’s final two goals. The last goal was scored by Maurice Malone, the former German youth international with American citizenship. Malone came into the game in the 87^th and scored two minutes later. At some point, Pepi is going to have to take advantage of being a late sub to earn more minutes.

American central defender Ryan Malone and Hansa Rostock were upset 1-0 by Lubeck of the Regionalliga. Malone played 78 minutes and was subbed out right when Lubeck took the lead.

George Bello continues to struggle for Arminia Bielefeld. Now with the club in the 2.Bundesliga, he is still not starting. On Saturday, he came off the bench in the 68^th minute for Arminia Bielefeld’s 7-1 win over FV Engers of the Obeliga. His national team prospects for Qatar are likely fading drastically.

Kevin Paredes did not get off the bench for Wolfsburg in a 1-0 win over Car Zeiss Jena. At some point, Wolfsburg is going to have to consider loaning Paredes. Wolfsburg spent substantial money on the American winger and they are going to need to get him on the field (at Wolfsburg or elsewhere soon).

Finally, Jann George played the final 10 minutes for Erzgebirge Aue in a 3-0 loss to Mainz on Sunday.

Notes from around Europe

Chris Richards made his preseason debut for Crystal Palace in a 4-2 win over Montpellier of France. With the score 4-1, Richards entered the game in the 78^th minute.

Richard Ledezma was given the chance to lift a trophy on Saturday when he was a stoppage time sub for PSV To preserve a 5-3 win over Ajax in the Dutch Super Cup. A loan still looks like the most realistic scenario for Ledezma with Vitesse being the most rumored club.

Taylor Booth is in a very good situation right now at FC Utrecht. After years of playing out of sight in the reserve and youth levels at Bayern Munich (a loan to Austria aside), Booth looks as if he will be the starter for Utrecht at the start of the Eredivisie season. Booth started and played very well on Saturday in the club’s 2-2 draw with Shakhtar Donetsk. Booth is one of the players who could be integral for the United States U-23 national team where he could start at the No. 6 position.

Sam Rogers started at left central defense and played 90 minutes for Rosenborg in a big 3-2 win over Odds Ballklubb. Rosenborg moved into fourth place in Norway and the American continues to be a staple of their backline.

Kobe Hernandez-Foster played the final 22 minutes for HamKam in a 1-0 loss at home to Kristiansund. HamKam fell to 12^th place in the 16-team league.

Joe Corona started and played 90 minutes for GIF Sundsvall in a 3-1 home loss to Varbergs Bois FC. Sundsvall sit in last place in Norway’s top flight.

Uly Llanez started and scored the second goal for St. Poelten in a 5-1 away win over Rapid Vienna II. St. Poelten now has six points from two games to start the 2.Liga season in Austria.