It seems Weston McKennie may only be staying at Leeds United for a short period following his loan move to Elland Road in the January transfer window.
The Whites were incredibly busy during the winter. And Weston McKennie became their final first-team addition, joining from Juventus as Jesse Marsch looked to bolster his midfield ranks.
90min reports that Leeds have the option to sign McKennie permanently for just over £29 million. And you would imagine that Juve would have only let him leave on loan if there were clauses that made a permanent exit more likely.
Leeds not currently planning to sign Weston McKennie permanently
But it seems that McKennie may indeed be making a swift return to Turin.
90min reports that Leeds are not currently planning to trigger the option to sign McKennie permanently. Of course, there is still plenty of time remaining in the season.
Obviously, any hope of McKennie staying will be dashed entirely if Leeds fail to stay in the Premier League.
But it is good to know that the Whites are not necessarily obliged to keep McKennie if we stay up.
McKennie has had a decent start to life at Elland Road. He has had some bright performances since arriving, particularly alongside Tyler Adams. And you would imagine that that relationship will develop given their friendship.
However, £29 million is a lot to spend. And McKennie is yet to stand out to the point where it becomes a no-brainer to keep him beyond this season.
The situation may change. Leeds have got plenty to fight for in the remaining weeks of the season. And if Javi Gracia’s men are going to stay up, they are going to need several players to step up in a big way.
McKennie has the potential to. Tony Dorigo suggested that McKennie was the perfect signing for Leeds in January.
But it is probably not unreasonable to suggest that he needs to do a little more to justify such an outlay in the summer.