Aidan_morris_-_asn_top_-_middlesbrough_-_8-23-25
Americans abroad

Tessmann, Adams, Tolkin, & Morris among weekend's top performers, while others struggle

ASN's Brian Sciaretta breaks down the weekend for you in the return of his Monday Americans abroad column. Who played well? Who didn't? Plus a complete rundown. 
BY Brian Sciaretta Posted
August 25, 2025
9:05 AM

IT WAS THE FIRST WEEKEND in Europe where all of the top leagues had full slates of games. There was plenty of good and bad to talk about and all this comes in the backdrop of the USMNT September roster coming this week and the transfer window entering its last seven days.

As opposed to last season, we’ll change up the format for the weekly abroad column.

 

Weekend Winners

 

Tyler Adams

 

The 2022 USMNT World Cup captain had a good outing for Bournemouth in a 1-0 win over Wolves on Saturday. Adams had a big role in the game’s only goal when he forced a Wolves turnover in a dangerous area to win possession and start the quick build-up.



Adams wasn’t great for the USMNT at the Gold Cup but was banged up after the last Premier League season. He has now had some rest in the offseason and looks ready. For the USMNT he is irreplaceable as the team still doesn’t have a backup for him who can play in a similar way.

 

Aidan Morris

 

Aidan Morris went the distance for Middlesbrough in a 2-1 away win over Norwich. Morris assisted on the second Boro goal. With a nice run behind the defense on the right side. This created a passing lane across the mouth of the goal.



It has been a dream start to the season for Boro which has nine points from three games. Morris has been in terrific form with his midfield play where he typically sits deep to make passes, switch the point of attack, win duels, and shield the backline defensively. This game saw him get into advanced positions occasionally – where he did well.

Now there is the wait to see if he will make the USMNT September roster. Right now, he’s doing everything he can to make it a hard choice for Mauricio Pochettino but the position is crowded.

 

 

Josh Sargent

 

Josh Sargent was on the wrong end of the 2-1 result  to Middlesbrough but he did score Norwich’s only goal of the game to pull one back with five minutes to go. The goal was high quality and Sargent now has four goals in four games this season among all competitions.



He’s the Norwich captain and is in great form. But he’s not proving anything we don’t know about him. We know he can score almost at will in the Championship whenever he can stay healthy. To add to that, Norwich will need a lot of luck to be in the mix for a playoff spot this season and promotion seems a long way off. That makes it lost opportunity that he hasn’t moved yet.

Sargent is still yet to produce for the USMNT at any meaningful rate. He hasn’t scored for the team since 2019. But in relation to the other forwards in the USMNT pool, he compares favorably. If he gets another chance in September, he must take it. The door won’t always be open for him.

 

Haji Wright

 

Haji Wright scored two goals for Coventry in a 7-1 humiliation of Queens Park Rangers. The first goal was particularly impressive as he made a nice run as a trailing attacker and hit low cross with his first touch for the game’s first goal.



Wright continues to be a great attacker in the Championship. His three goals to start the season are helping to erase what was a very difficult end to the 2024/25 season when Wright played poorly.

But right now, Coventry are flying with seven points from three games.

 

Tanner Tessmann

 

Tanner Tessmann has been in fine form to start the season at an impressive level with Lyon, one of the big clubs in Ligue 1. On Saturday, the former FC Dallas homegrown played all 90 minutes for Lyon in a 3-0 win over Metz. They have opened the season with six points and a +4 goal differential.

Since the start of the calendar year, Tessmann has been improving significantly every month. Next up is trying to get that to translate over to the USMNT. But he will have competition as Aidan Morris and Johnny Cardoso are also both playing well, Tyler Adams is back, and James Sands is getting his career back on track with St. Pauli after his broken ankle. But Tessmann’s resume compares well to anyone right now.

 

John Tolkin

 

The USMNT left back and former RBNY homegrown John Tolkin had a great week. He scored a goal for Holstein Kiel midweek in a 2-0 win over Regionalliga side Homburg in the DFB Cup. Then on Sunday, he scored his first league goal of the season in a 2-0 away win over Gruether Furth.

On the goal, Furth pushed all players (including the keeper) into the attack in the final minute looking for an equalizer. Tolkin got sprung on a counterattack and was able to fire a shot into an empty net.

 

After two losses to start the season, Holstein Kiel is now back to winning ways.

Tolkin remains in the mix to compete on the USMNT as the backup to Antonee Robinson. There is still competition and playing in the German second tier doesn’t help him much, but the only thing he can do is play well – which he has done for Holstein Kiel since January. He was also great for the Red Bulls in 2024 during the playoffs meaning he’s had a great run for almost a year.

 

Sergino Dest

 

What’s even more important that Sergino Dest playing well? Sergino Dest playing a full 90. Dest missed most of last season recovering from his ACL tear. He then had a subsequent injury which kept him out of the Gold Cup. With that in mind, it’s very positive for him to show quality over 90 minutes.

That happened for Dest in Saturday’s 4-2 win over Groningen. Dest even picked up an assist on the final goal. Dest is a great player, and now it looks like he is ready to move forward and play a lot of minutes.

 

Rokas Pukstas

 

After a terrible 2024/25 season where he battled injuries and a coach that didn’t rate him, Rokas Pukstas is now back to having his career resume its upward trajectory. New Hajduk Split manager Gonzalo Garcia rates Pukstas and Pukstas has been very sharp in recent weeks.

 The Oklahoma native and wide midfielder (who turns 21 today) had a very strong 90 minutes in a 2-0 away win over Osijek to move to a perfect 12 points from four games. In the game, Pukstas created chance, won duels, and passed well.

Hajduk Split typically sells top performing young players and those funds are needed revenue. Pukstas is probably going to have to be sold soon as the club nearly sold him last summer to Parma. With that, he is a player to watch for rumors this week.

 

George Campbell

 

Of the many Americans in the Championship this season, George Campbell is intriguing because he moved to West Brom over the summer despite not really standing out in MLS with Montreal, or even Atlanta before that. Despite the U.S. U-23 team needing central defenders last year at the Olympics, he couldn’t make that team.

 

But Campbell has gotten off to a nice start. Not only is he not glued to the bench, but he’s starting. Over the weekend he made his second straight start in a 1-1 draw with Portsmouth and he performed well in his defensive responsibilities. West Brom has seven points from three games and Campbell should continue to start.

 

Jedi & Pepi return

 

Regardless of how they played, it was an important development to see Ricardo Pepi and Antonee Robinson return to the field after injuries which sidelined them this past summer.

 

Pepi made his first appearance since January when he went the final four minutes for PSV in the 4-2 win over his former club, Groningen. Antonee Robinson played the final 28 minutes for Fulham in its 1-1 draw with Manchester United. Robinson did not play in any preseason game as he recovered from his knee injury.

 

It wasn’t a great weekend for everyone

 

While a lot of top American players enjoyed their weekend, it wasn’t great for everyone Some had disappointing minutes and/or disappointing performances.

In the Championship, Ethan Horvath was rocky in his Sheffield Wednesday debut where he was at fault for the second Wrexham goal in a 2-2 draw. He couldn’t hang onto a strong shot from outside the box and instead gave up an easy rebound from close range.

 

 Staying in the Championship, Damian Downs couldn’t get anything going when he played the second half for Southampton in a 2-1 loss at home to a Stoke team that has been on fire to start the season.

The same is true for Charlie Kelman, who hasn’t been able to replicate his Golden Boot form in the third tier to this season in the Championship with Charlton Athletic. Kelman went 15 minutes on Saturday in a 1-0 loss to Leicester.

In France’s Ligue 1, Folarin Balogun was invisible for AS Monaco in a 1-0 loss away to Lille on Sunday. He still doesn’t look back up to his form before his shoulder injury last December.

In Serie A, Christian Pulisic went 90 minutes for AC Milan in a terrible season opening 2-1 loss at home to Cremonese. The good news is that Pulisic was arguably Milan’s best player, but if Milan struggles, it will be a hard season for Pulisic.

 

Staying in Italy’s top tier, Weston McKennie was reduced to a late cameo for Juventus in a 2-0 win over Parma on Sunday. As everyone knows, McKennie drifts in and out of the plans at Juventus across multiple coaches, but he might actually not be in a good position right now. The question is how he gets into a better situation to start the season.

It was a tough weekend in the 2.Bundesliga aside from Tolkin. Julian Green and Max Dietz were on the wrong end of that game too with the loss to Holstein Kiel.

Mael Corboz and Arminia Bielefeld won their first two games of the season but dropped an ugly 2-1 loss at home to Dynamo Dresden with Corboz going the full 90 minutes. Johann Gomez was ineffective for the final 26 minutes for Eintracht Braunschweig in a 2-0 loss to Karlsruher. Meanwhile, Santiago Castaneda was pulled at halftime for Paderborn in a 2-1 loss at home to Fortuna Duesseldorf, although a first half red card to Paderborn played a role.

In the Premier League, Brenden Aaronson went the final 24 minutes for Leeds United in a 5-0 loss to Arsenal. Aaronson was not one of the problems for Leeds United and it was 4-0 when he came on. But his effort to carve out a role on the team in the Premier League remains a work in progress.

In the Eredivisie, it’s a tough assignment for Zack Booth who came off the bench for Excelsior in a 4-1 loss to Utrecht. Excelsior are conceding goals in droves to start the season and a relegation is ahead.

U.S. U-20 central defender Noahkai Banks looks like he needs a loan to continue his development has he was an unused sub for Augsburg in an impressive 3-1 win over Freiburg. He is good, but he wasn’t missed. What is the path for him to get minutes?

In Belgium’s top flight, Marlon Fossey played the entire game at right back for Standard Liege in an ugly 3-0 loss at home to Cercle Brugge. There is a lot of competition at right back now for the USMNT, and Fossey needs to play well. Unfortunately, no one on Standard Liege did.

There continue to be a lot of injuries. Caleb Wiley’s back kept him out for Watford’s draw with Swansea. Kevin Paredes is out long-term for Wolfsburg, as is John Brooks at Hertha BSC. Bayer Leverkusen missed Malik Tillman who couldn’t play in his team’s 2-1 loss to Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga opener.

Tillman’s injury puts him doubt for the USMNT September window.

 

Other Notes

 

In the Premier League, Chris Richards had a solid game for Crystal Palace in a 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest. He played on the right side of a three-man backline and showed his typically consistent competency.

In Ligue 1, Tim Weah played 63 minutes for Marseille in a 5-2 win over Paris FC.  Weah played left wing but was generally quiet. The score was 2-2 when he left.

Mark McKenzie went 90 minutes for Toulouse in a 2-0 win over Brest. He played on the right side of a three-man backline which bended but did not break. Brest outshot Toulouse 16-6 but was on the wrong end of the decision. But McKenzie and Co. can’t conceded that many shots and expect a favorable result most of the time.

In the Eredivisie, Taylor Booth went 70 minutes for Twente in a 2-1 win at Heerenveen. The Utah native left the game with Twente up 1-0. He didn’t factor into the one goal scored while he was on the field, but he’s another player that just needs a long string of minutes. The USMNT is probably far for him right now, but he’s one that could factor next cycle.

In the Bundesliga, James Sands played 87 minutes in midfield for St. Pauli in a 3-3 draw with Borussia Dortmund. He left the game shortly after St. Pauli scored to pull within one with the score 3-2. He remains a player with a USMNT shot.

Kristoffer Lund played 67 quiet minutes for FC Koln in a 1-0 away win over Mainz in what was his Bundesliga debut. He was subbed out with the score 0-0 and was part of a triple sub. He didn’t stand out but should continue to hold his starting job. Lennard Maloney played the final 25 minutes for Mainz in the loss. Right now, there isn’t much to suggest Pochettino rates either player.

On Sunday, Joe Scally had a strong full 90 shift for Borussia Monchengladbach in a 0-0 draw with Hamburg SV.

In La Liga on Sunday, Johnny Cardoso went 68 minutes to Atletico Madrid in a 1-1 draw with Elche. He didn’t stand out, but was still competent and solid as he builds his foundation at the club.

In Italy’s opening weekend for Serie B, Jonathan Klinsmann made three saves for Cesena in a 3-1 away win over Pescara. Gianluca Busio played well for Venezia in a solid 2-1 win over Bari. Andrija Novakovich made his Reggiana debut in a 2-1 away loss to Palermo where he played the final 11 minutes.

In Scotland, Cameron Carter-Vickers was an unused sub and Auston Trusty did not make the matchday squad in a 3-0 win over Livingston. Scott Pittman went 90 minutes in the loss. Celtic have an important Champions League qualifier this week in Kazakhstan.

In Portugal, Korede Osundina played 58 minutes for Casa Pia in an ugly 4-0 loss to Porto on Sunday.

In Denmark, Matthew Hoppe played 61 minutes for SonderjyskE in a 2-0 win over Brondby (where Gavin Beavers is the backup goalkeeper). Hoppe didn’t do much, but this was a big win for SonderjyskE.

Also in Denmark, Jonathan Amon played the last six minutes for Vejle Boldklub in a 1-0 loss at AGF Arhus.

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