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Americans abroad

Yanks abroad: Pulisic, Adams, Morris, Balogun stand out, Cremsaschi to Parma, and more

ASN's Brian Sciaretta writes up his thoughts about Americans abroad over the past weekend, which was one of the best weekends in 2025 in terms of on-field performances. Also, there was some player movement as well. 
BY Brian Sciaretta Posted
September 02, 2025
9:05 AM

LABOR DAY WEEKEND is the unofficial end of summer and the start of fall, and the past few days was one of the best weekends for Americans in Europe of 2025. There were impressive performances and results in the Premier League, Ligue 1, Serie A, and the Bundesliga. Many players on the current USMNT roster and players looking to make future rosters boosted their case to make the landscape more competitive overall.

Sure, there were some tough moments such as Mark McKenzie and Toulouse getting thrashed by Paris St. Germain and PSV was on the wrong upset of a stunning Eredivisie upset. But overall, it was a great weekend.

 

Weekend winners

 

Tyler Adams

 

The U.S. national team defensive midfielder went the distance for AFC Bournemouth in a stunning 1-0 away win over Tottenham in London. Adams was terrific in this game and he was arguably the Cherries best player in both defense and helping the transition into offense once they won the ball. Bournemouth probably doesn’t win this game without Adams.

There are other Americans knocking at the door to be the backup to Adams on the national team, but right now he is irreplaceable. This game shows that he will be arriving into USMNT camp in strong form.

 

Christian Pulisic & Yunus Musah

 

After losing to Cremonese at home in the Serie A opener, AC Milan was under pressure to win the second game away to Lecce. In the end, Milan was able to walk away with a 2-0 win and both of the team’s Americans played a role.

Yunus Musah earned the start and played well. This comes despite a rocky preseason. Musah didn’t make many mistakes and helped the team keep up the pressure on Lecce throughout the game.

Following the game, it was announced on Monday that Musah would leave Milan to join Atalanta on loan with a loan that includes an option to buy. Musah is still close to the same player he was at Valencia and it will be interesting if he can further his development at Atalanta. The loan without a mandatory option makes it unclear how highly Atalanta rate Musah or whether they see this almost as a season-long trial.

Christian Pulisic was the difference maker despite playing on the last 14 minutes. With the score 1-0, Pulisic took advantage of Lecce’s players playing far up while pushing for an equalizer and made it 2-0 in the 86th minute. The Hershey native was one of the team’s bright spots in the loss in week one. Now in week two, he scored to put the game out of reach. He’s off to a strong start this season and continues to be one of Milan’s best players.

 

Josh Sargent

 

After he was on the Championship team of the season in 2024/24 despite missing months with an injury, Josh Sargetn is on pace for a special season for Norwich as he scored two goals in a 2-0 away win over Blackburn on Saturday. That now gives him a staggering five goals in four games in the Championship and six goals in five games across al competition.

 

The question now for Sargent is whether he is content to remain at Norwich this season? Does he believe Norwich can get promoted this season?

As for the national team, Sargent is under pressure to see his form translate internationally. He has not scored for the team since 2019.

 

Aidan Morris

 

While Sargent is scoring goals in droves, Aidan Morris is the top performing American in the Championship and he is a critical reason why Middlesbrough now has a perfect 12 points from its first four games.

Morris, 23, was in fantastic for yet again as Boro defeated Sheffield United 1-0. He was an ideal two-way midfielder who shined in possession, creating chances, defense, and in duel winning. He won 8/12 duels, was 54/60 in passing, forced two saves, and drew three fouls.

He is a very valuable player right now for Boro and he will help put them in a promotion race. If Boro comes up short in promotion, it might be hard for Boro to keep him if they remain in the Championship.

As for the national team, he is likely back in the mix soon.

 

Rokas Pukstas

 

The rebound season for Rokas Pukstas continues as the Oklahoma native scored two goals for Hajduk Split in a 2-2 draw with defending champions Rijeka on Sunday. Two seasons ago, he was a top American prospect but last season he was benched by Gennaro Gattuso  who saw little need for him. With Gattuso gone, Pukstas has been playing terrific soccer and Hajduk is tied for the top of the table with 13 points from five games.

Of course, Hajduk is not the type of club who can hold onto top prospects for long. If they can fetch a significant sum for a young player, they will sell to fund operations. The question is whether his recent push came too late in the window – or will he have to wait until January.

But he is putting himself into a great position with a bright future.

As for the national team, he’s still just 21. His breakout this season might have come too late for 2026  but he will be 22 to start the 2030 cycle.

 

James Sands

 

On Friday, St. Pauli make the trip across the city to face city rivals Hamburg in an intense derby match and came away with a huge 2-0 win. James Sands went 90 minutes in the win and thrived in the defensive midfield position. He was credited with winning 5/6 of his tackles and 8/14 of his ground duels.

Sands, 25, looks clearly beyond his broken ankle which he suffered in February shortly after joining St. Pauli on loan. His mobility appears 100% and he remains an underrated American in the player pool – this was true even when he was at New York City FC.

 

Malik Tillman

 

After missing the season opener with a calf injury, Malik Tillman scored his his Bayer Leverkusen debut when his 35th minute strike gave his club a 2-0 lead on Werder Bremen. But the day was ultimately not successful for Bayer which blew 2-0 and 3-1 leads and had to settle for a 3-3 draw.

Following the game, Bayer fired manager Erik ten Hag after just three games and 10 weeks on the job.

Ultimately, Tillman played well but he now finds himself at a club a total mess. It is a good thing he is remaining with the club this window as he can be there from the start with the new manager, yet to be named.

Tillman is in a great place with the national team. Mauricio Pochettino had nothing but good things to say about him at the Gold Cup. He should be back in October.

 

Folarin Balogun

 

Folarin Balogun scored his first goal of the season for AS Monaco when his 46th minute strike gave Monaco a 2-0 lead against Strasbourg. Monaco would squander that lead but eventually find a stoppage time winner.

Balogun was rusty in his first start last weekend but was far more dangerous in this game. What’s even better news is that the team has found a way to get both Balogun and Mika Biereth on the field together. In the second half of last season it appeared as if Biereth was going to take Balogun’s spot after he joined the club in January and was in great form. But, for now, the two can coexist.

This should put Balogun in a good spot for the U.S. national team who should be at a high point in his confidence.

 

Haji Wright

 

Haji Wright scored his fourth goal of the season on Saturday as his Coventry team played Oxford United to a 2-2 draw. Coventry has scored 14 goals in four games, which is the most in the Championship (the second most is nine goals). The team’s issue right now is its defense.

Wright nearly scored a winner in the second half but hit the woodwork instead. Despite his success, he is on the bubble of the USMNT right now given that Weah, Pulisic, and now Zendejas are also in the mix.

It is going to be a close call for Wright if he makes the World Cup team.

 

Tanner Tessmann

 

Lyon is one of just two teams in Ligue 1 that has nine points from its first three games – the other is PSG. Lyon’s third win came on Sunday in a 1-0 win over Tim Weah and Marseille, with Marseille reduced to 10 men in the 29th minute after a red card to CJ Egan-Riley.

Tessmann played well over 90 minute in the win although his job was made a little easier with Marseille shorthanded. But he still helped Lyon control the midfield. This game should have been a blowout but Lyon was wasteful and needed a late own goal to secure the victory.

Weah got the start at left back and he helped a defense that was forced to sit deep. But it does raise a concern about what his role on the team is. He’s played three different positions in three games. Is he just there to fill holes or is there a position where they see him consistently?  

 

Player movement

 

The transfer window in Europe’s top leagues is now closed and there wasn’t too much activity.

 

Cremaschi loaned to Parma

 

United States U-20 midfielder Benja Cremaschi has been loaned by Inter Miami to Parma in Serie A with Parma holding an option to purchase. Ultimately, it is good for Miami to show that it can sell a homegrown player to a top five league. Cremaschi, 20, has been a regular for Inter Miami for two seasons but it has been tough for him to start consistently given the club’s star-studded lineup.

It remains to be seen what his role on Parma will be although he might be walking into a relegation fight.

In another bit of news, it might be a blow to the U.S. U-20 World Cup team as Parma might not be keen to release Cremaschi for a month to play in the tournament and miss potentially five Serie A games.

But Cremashci has plenty of more opportunities with U.S. Soccer. He could feature for the USMNT in the coming years, although the next World Cup cycle is more realistic. Also, he is eligible for the 2028 Olympic team in Los Angeles.

 

Pefok to Tondela

 

Jordan Pefok, 29, moved from Stade de Reims to Tondela in Portugal just before the window closed. It seems like a desperation move for Pefok as he joined Reims last season in hopes to reboot his career as Reims brought him close to home with his first club. But he was injured and struggled on the field for Reims in 2024/25 and the club was relegated with Pefok struggling to score. He also wasn’t sharp to start this season.

Now he joins a Tondela team that has just one point from its first four games in Portugal’s top flight.

 

De la Fuente to CA Ceuta

 

Former U.S. U-20 World Cup winger Konrad de la Fuente has moved from Lausanne in Switzerland to CA Ceuta in Spain’s Segunda. This is a club that was just promoted from the third tier.

It’s a move that reflects where de la Fuente stands right now. He fell out of the plans at Lausanne and needs to move back to Spain where he began his career and is probably more comfortable.

 

Other notes

 

The Old Firm derby took place at Ibrox on Sunday with the teams playing to a 0-0 draw. This comes on the heels of a terrible week for Scottish clubs in Europe. Every club lost its playoff games, including Celtic and Rangers who were both bounced from the Champions League into the Europa League.

Cameron Carter-Vickers played well in the 0-0 draw, but the game itself was poor.

Mark McKenzie and Toulouse had a big spotlight when they hosted PSG on Saturday. Toulouse didn’t concede a goal in the first two games but conceded six against the European Champs in a 6-3 loss. The gap between the haves and have-nots in France is huge.

In the Eredivisie, PSV lost to Telstar 2-0 at home. It was a stunning upset to a Telstar team which had not beaten PSV in 57 years and is in the Dutch top flight for the first time since 1978. Sergino Dest started for PSV and was dangerous in the first half, but began to make a lot of mistakes in the second half as PSV pressed. Ricardo Pepi came on to start the second half and, unsurprisingly, was rusty.

Atletico Madrid played Deportivo Alaves to a 1-1 away draw on Sunday and the club has just two points from its first three games. Johnny Cardoso started and played 72 minutes but something isn’t clicking with Atletico right now. Cardoso isn’t the problem, but he is also struggling along with his teammates to start the season.

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