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Americans abroad

Morris & Boro into first, Freeman debuts, McKennie scores again, and more

ASN's Brian Sciaretta breaks down everything with Americans abroad in one big column. There is a lot to talk about this week as we have debuts, goals, transfers, and title races. 
BY Brian Sciaretta Posted
February 10, 2026
5:00 AM

THE PAST WEEK has seen a lot of Americans make progress in Europe with Aidan Morris moving into first, Weston McKennie continuing his best season, Alex Freeman making a LaLiga debut, two Americans in a title race in Austrian, and so much more. 

Let's break it all down

 

Morris & Boro move into first

 

Middlesbrough has been the best team in the Championship over the last two months and on Monday, the club defeated Sheffield United to overtake Coventry for first place. It was the sixth straight win in the league for Boro.

Aidan Morris is simply playing very good soccer right now.  In this game, Morris went 88 minutes in central midfield, completed 53/57 of his passes, was successful in five tackles, won 6/8 of his ground duels.

Morris went 88 minutes in central midfield, 53/57 in passing, 5 tackles, 6/8 in ground duels.

Next weekend is the biggest game of the Championship season as first place Middlesbrough visits second place Coventry. If Boro can win that game, they will pull away from the pack in the race for promotion. Morris would then be in the Premier League.

As for the national team, Morris is in a tough competition to make the World Cup team with central midfield being competitive but he is quietly pulling away from players like James Sands, Yunus Musah, and others. The March camp is going to be intense to help shape the pecking order.

 

Freeman debuts for Villarreal

 

Alex Freeman made his Villarreal debut on Monday when he played the last 17 minutes plus stoppage time of a 4-1 win over Espanyol. It was a low-pressure occasion to get his debut out of the way as the club was up 4-0 when he was subbed on in the 73rd minute.  



There really isn’t much to take away from his performance. The USMNT right back looked a little nervous, which is to be expected. This was also his first game since November given he made the move in the MLS offseason.

But overall, he completed all of his passes, which were mostly simple. He didn’t make any major mistakes.

It reflects well on Villarreal that they wanted to get his debut over with quickly so that he can now be eased into big games.

 

Aaronson impresses for Leeds

 

From the looks of things, Leeds is going to survive in the Premier League this season. On Friday, the club defeated Nottingham Forest 3-1 to move six points clear of the relegation zone.

Brenden Aaronson had a strong 78 minute shift and left with the score 3-0 and this game only furth cemented his status as a dependable Premier League player. For the team’s second goal in the 30th minute, Aaronson combined with James Justin for a great shot that forced a save. Justin was there for the rebound and he fed Noah Oakfor for a finish.

 

When you listen or read what Mauricio Pochettino has been saying when he describes what he wants in players, Aaronson checks a lot of boxes. He plays with intensity. He is a great teammate who is very positive. He plays a variety of positions and can fit several different tactical approaches.

Aaronson continues to be one of the most improved American players this season. Looking ahead to the World Cup, don’t be surprised if the Medford, NJ native is in line to start games.

 

Busio solid again in big Venezia win

 

Gianluca Busio has been through both promotions and relegations with Venezia before but this time is different. In 2025/26, Busio is the leader of Venezia whereas in the past he was part of the supporting cast.

Busio, 23, has been thriving in this role and over the past month Venezia has climbed to the top of the Serie B table. On Saturday, Venezia faced their biggest test when they visited second-place Frosinone with just one point separating the teams.

Busio ended up going the distance as Venezia trailed 1-0 into the second half but scored goals in the 63rnd and 77th minutes to win it. As for Busio, it was another good performance in a positive result. This one lifted the club four points clear in first place.

This has been Busio’s best season since heading to Europe five years ago after the 2021 Gold Cup. The coming World Cup team will likely come too soon for him as central midfield is the deepest position in the team’s pool. But next cycle? Busio will only be 27 in the build-up to the 2030 World Cup.

 

Bello & Adeniran in Austrian title hunt

 

With the World Cup approaching, almost all of the analysis of American abroad is on national team hopefuls. That is understandable but a surprisingly good story away from that group is emerging in the Austrian Bundesliga as a LASK team with two American starters is now even on points for first place, only trailing Salzburg on goal differential.

LASK lost six of its first nine games to start the season but now has eight wins and a draw in its last nine games.

The Austrian Bundesliga emerged from its winter break this weekend and LASK hosted WSG Tirol and came away with a big 1-0 win.

 

Sam Adeniran, 27, scored the game’s only goal when Sasa Kalajdzic sent a looping ball into the box from the left side. Adeniran beat the goalkeeper to the ball and was able to head it home from seven yards. He now has five goals along with three assists in the season. His production has been improving as the season has progressed and there are hopes among LASK fans that he will break out in the second half of the season.

In addition to the goal, the former St. Louis City striker won 7/8 of his aerials and should feature heavily down the stretch in what is a title race.

George Bello also went 90 minutes for LASK at left wingback and is enjoying a very good season. His move from Atlanta to Arminia Bielefeld in Germany did not work out but he has quietly done a nice jo rebuilding his career in Austria.

 

Matarazzo keeps winning

 

Pellegrino Matarazzo has been a hit since arriving at Real Sociedad as head coach at the start of January. Since taking over, he as six wins and two draws in all competitions as Real Sociedad has climbed out of a relegation battle and into eighth place in LaLiga and also into the semifinals of the Copa de Rey.

On Saturday, Real Sociedad defeated Elche 3-1 to continue the upward trajectory of Matarazzo.

 

This has been such an important step forward for Matarazzo as he shows that he could adjust to a team outside of Germany, where he has spent his entire coaching career before this stop.

It would not be surprising if his next step is with a very big club.

 

Tessmann boosts Lyon to 13th straight win

 

This has been a breakout season for Tanner Tessmann as he has become a key starter for a Lyon team that is red hot right now. On Saturday, that nice run continued as Lyon defeated Nantes 1-0 despite playing away from and playing with 10 men after Brazilian teenager Endrick was sent off in the 61st minute.

Tessmann had to adjust for the last 30 minutes and shift to a defensive role, which he did very well to help preserve the win. Lyon will now end the weekend in third place.

But the club is rising extremely quickly and has won 13 games in a row across all competitions (Ligue 1, Coupe de France, and the Europa League). For Tessmann, this is a great experience. Pochettino is surely going to be impressed by his winning and his ability to play different positions  (including central defense). Tessmann is certainly a player who could be moving from being an auxiliary player and into a starter, like Brenden Aaronson.

Making the U.S. team is very competitive but it is obvious which players are raising their game. Tessmann is tops of that group.

 

Beavers keeps cleansheet for Brondby

 

Gavin Beavers is one of the top young American goalkeepers of his generation dating back to his first team breakthrough at Real Salt Lake. Last year he was sold to Brondby but made just one appearance during the season while serving as a backup.

On Sunday, Beavers made his season debut for Brondby keeping a cleansheet against Randers in a 0-0 draw. The club sits third place in the Danish Superliga. In the game he played well and made four saves, two of which were difficult.

Beavers earned the start due to the fact Patrick Pentz was suspended for the game due to a red card he picked up in December just before the winter break. The question is whether Beavers can continue to earn occasional starts. Pentz, 29, is an accomplished goalkeeper with 17 caps for Austria. But a club like Brondby will want to continue to develop players and Beavers, who stands at 6’5”, is a good prospect for his position.  

Internationally, Beavers was included only on the 2025 U-20 World Cup team due to Diego Kochen being recalled from Barcelona. Beavers did not play and remained a backup.

But if he can develop and play at Brondby, he is an option for the 2028 U.S. Olympic team along with Kochen.

 

McKennie scores in Juve draw

 

Weston McKennie continued his red hot form with a goal for Juventus in a 2-2 draw at home against Lazio. Lazio jumped out to a 2-0 lead just after halftime before McKennie pulled one back for Juve in the 59th minute. Prior to that, Juventus had been very wasteful with its chances while allowing Lazio to capitalize on their limited chances. Juventus then forced a late equalizer after McKennie was subbed off.

 

McKennie now has seven goals this season in all competitions (four in Serie A, three in the Champions League).

As McKennie’s contract expires in a few months, he will be looking to cash in on what he is doing now. Surely his next deal is a motivating factor in his impressive season and this matches up perfectly with the start of the World Cup.

We don’t know where McKennie will play next season, but he will have suitors.

 

England: Richards impresses, Jedi benched

 

It was not a good weekend for Americans in England in the Championship while Chris Richards and the aforementioned Brenden Aaronson stoop out in the Premier League. But right now, there are questions about one of the national team’s best players.  

Antonee Robinson was benched for Fulham in its 2-1 loss at home to Everton. His performances have not been as strong recently and it raises the question if he was given too much of a workload when he returned from his injury.

For the U.S. team, it is simply about him being healthy in May and June. That could be possible (although maybe not). After the World Cup, there will likely still be questions over his durability and it might take another approach.

Chris Richards and Crystal Palace ended a bad skid with a 1-0 away win over Brighton. Richards was a lone bright spot during the team’s skid but he along with his teammates played well enough on Sunday to pick up a big away win. It was the club’s first win in any competition since December 11, a stretch of 12 games in all competitions.

In the Championship, U.S. national team assistant coach Miguel D’Agostino was in attendance to watch Patrick Agyemang play 90 minutes for Derby County in a 2-1 loss at home to Ipswich. It was not a good game for the former Charlotte FC forward who struggled to get going and was never dangerous.

Derby fell to ninth place in the promotion race but are still only two points out of the playoff positions.

Haji Wright and Coventry fell out of the top spot in the Championship after playing Oxford United to a 0-0 draw. It was a disappointing result against a team sitting second from the bottom.

Wright went 90 minutes and only had 26 touches and completed two passes. He had six shots and should have put a 9th minute chance away. Overall, it’s been a tough run for Wright dating back to November.

Next weekend Coventry and Middlesbrough meet up in what could be the biggest game of the season in the Championship.

Daryl Dike returned to the starting lineup for West Bromwich Albion on Saturday against Stoke City. That was great news. The bad news, however, is that his performance was not good and he was criticized in local media. Hopefully this was just a lot of rust and not indicative of a drop in level after his injuries. But West Brom is only one point clear of the relegation zone. They could use Dike. Meanwhile, George Campell is out for West Brom for another few weeks with a hamstring injury.

Charlie Kelman played 70 minutes for Charleton in a 0-0 draw with Queens Park Rangers in a London Derby.

 

Germany: Albert makes bench, big win for Sands

 

Mathis Albert made the bench for Borussia Dortmund but his debut will have to wait as he went unused in a 2-1 away win over Wolfsburg. But the fact he is making their bench at the age of 16 is exciting.

In that game, Kevin Paredes returned to the starting lineup for Wolfsburg and played 64 minutes in the loss. The good news is that Paredes looked healthy and was feisty on both sides of the ball. He won duels, fought for possession, and helped disrupt Borussia Dortmund.

The bad news for Paredes is that the club is only out of the relegation playoff position on goal differential. The club is going to need him.

Paredes could return to the U.S. national team in the fall after the World Cup, but he needs to stay healthy.

Noahkai Banks started for Augsburg away against Mainz but was pulled at half-time of a 2-0 loss. Banks was part of a tactical switch during the first half as he moved halfway through from right central defense to left central defense in a three-man backline. He did not do nearly as well after the switch but pulling him at the break seemed harsh. We will see if this hurts his chances to start down the stretch.

Augsburg is now three points clear of the relegation playoff position.

Also in this game, Lennard Maloney was a late sub for Mainz to help kill time to preserve the win. Mainz is now two points clear of the bottom two and are surprisingly playing well after sitting in the relegation zone just weeks ago.

James Sands had one of his best performances of the season as he went the distance for St. Pauli in crucial 2-1 win over Stuttgart. The win kept St. Paul within reach of climbing out of the relegation zone. They are now two points from safety as opposed to being five points with a loss. Sands was very effective defensively as he helped prevent Stuttgart from controlling the midfield.

This will only help Sands in his chances to impress Mauricio Pochettino, but he needs injuries to other players to make the World Cup team.

Damion Downs returned from injury and played the second half for 11th-place Hamburg in a 2-0 away win over last-place Heidenheim. Overall, he did not do much and is still struggling since arriving with HSV last month after his transfer to Southampton last summer did not work out. Downs is unfortunately looking at a lost season.

Borussia Monchengladbach and Bayer Leverkusen played to a 1-1 draw on Saturday. Malik Tillman played the whole game for Bayer and did relatively well in creating chances but he was not part of his team’s lone goal.

Joe Scally was on the bench to begin the game but played the last 12 minutes and was 0/2 in passing. His World Cup hopes seem to be fading.

Kristoffer Lund played 78 decent minutes for Cologne in a 2-1 loss at home to RB Leipzig. The Danish-American was relatively quiet. It is an open question whether Cologne will exercise its option to buy for Lund on his loan from Palermo. He is a player who does not seem to be in consideration for a World Cup spot but could benefit next cycle under the fresh eyes of a new coach.

In the 2.Bundesliga, there were ups and downs.

Santiago Castaneda started for Paderborn in a 2-1 win over Nurnberg. It has been a tough start to the second half of the season for the Tampa native but he was able to help with the win in this game. The assignment was made easier thanks to a Nurnburg red card in the 51st minute. This win saw Paderborn finish the weekend in third place (promotional playoff position) but only a point behind Schalke for an automatic promotional place.

Castaneda has been up and down the past three months, but he’s getting a great experience playing in this promotion race.

John Tolkin went 90 minutes for Holstein Kiel in a 3-1 loss to Hannover on Sunday. The former New York Red Bull is now in yet another relegation battle, this time in the 2.Bundesliga. The club now sits just two points clear. He should be pushing for a move this summer, even if Holstein Kiel survives.

Mael Corboz went 90 minutes for Arminia Bielefeld in a 3-2 win over Eintracht Braunschweig to move into 11th place. Both teams are now even on points with Eintracht Braunschweig sitting in 14th place due to goal differential. Johan Gomez picked up an assist for Braunschweig.

 

France: Tough weekend in Ligue 1

 

Aside from Tanner Tessmann, the rest of the Yanks in the top French league had a tough weekend.

Mark McKenzie played only the last nine minutes for Toulouse in a 1-0 loss Angers. The former Philadelphia Union defender was on the field for the Angers winner, but was not at fault. It came on a counterattack following a Toulouse corner and the goalkeeper was out of position and unable to stop a 35 yard looping shot. Toulouse now sits eighth.

Folarin Balogun has not scored in Ligue 1 since November 4 and has been having a tough run. He hit the post from close range in the 3rd minute on Sunday in a 0-0 draw with Nice as his cold stretch continues. Monaco end the weekend in 10th place.

Tim Weah and Marseille were thrashed by Paris St. Germain 5-0. Weah, like most of his teammates, had a game to forget.

 

Yanks Elsewhere

 

Sergino Dest started for PSV in a 2-1 away win over Groningen. It was a good but not great performance from Dest as PSV are now 17 points clear atop the Eredivisie table.

Rokas Pukstas scored for Hajduk Split in the seventh minute to open the scoring in what was a 2-0 win over Slaven. It was his fifth game of the season. Pukstas played 90 minutes and was solid. It is hard to see this not being his last season in Croatia. Hajduk sits second, five points behind Dinamo Zagreb.

It the Derby of the Eternal Enemies in Greece, Panathinaikos defeated hosts Olympiacos 1-0. Erik Palmer-Brown was just 5/11 in passing but had 21 clearances for Panathinaikos to preserve the win. Despite the win, Panathinaikos is still 14 points behind second place Olympiacos.

In Serie B, Jonathan Klinsmann made four saves for Cesena in a 2-0 win over Pescara. The former LA Galaxy preserved the cleansheet and two of his saves were very difficult. Cesena now sits fifth place in its promotional race. It is looking like Cesena will have to go through the playoffs.

In the Scottish Cup, Celtic scored a stoppage time equalizer and then found a winner shortly into extratime to defeat Dundee FC 2-1. Auston Trusty played all 120 minutes.  

In the Danish Superliga, Matthew Hoppe started and played 70 minutes for Sonderjyske in a 2-1 loss to Nordsjaelland on Sunday. Hoppe left the game with Sonderjyske down 2-0. Despite the loss, Sonderjyske still sits a respectable fourth place in the league.

 

Transfers

 

There are two moves to talk about to conclude this column.

First, Agustin Anello has transferred from Uruguay’s Boston River to the Philadelphia Union. It's a very nice move for Anello. His move to Uruguay helped him reset after he didn't stick with Hajduk Split or Sparta Rotterdam. He did well in Uruguay and even got to play in the Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana.

 

But moving to Uruguay was always a holding pattern after a rough time in Europe. The pay in the Uruguayan Primera is low, especially outside of Nacional and Peñarol.

But now he joins a good Philadelphia team that works well with American players. It's a big step up. On top of that, he gets a 4 year contract guaranteed through 2029 - which is huge.

One thing to keep an eye on is that Philadelphia frequently does not play wingers. Maybe that is changing.

Second, Hungarian media is reporting that U.S. youth international right back Aidan Harangi is being loaned from Eintracht Frankfurt to ZTE of Hungary’s top flight.



Harangi spent the second half of 2025 on loan with San Diego FC but did not make the U.S. U-20 World Cup team. He was part of the U.S. U-17 World Cup team in 2023.

 

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