Southampton: Weston McKennie identified as possible replacement
Southampton are looking for a Hojbjerg replacement and it appears Hasenhuttl has identified the young American as an option.
According to a new report from the Kicker, the 21-year-old is wanted by a number of clubs, and among them are Southampton.
The South Coast club will face competition from Hertha, Liverpool, Leicester, and Newcastle for the United States international’s signature. The rumoured price is for the midfielder is around £20-25m.
This rumour is one particularly interesting to me as McKennie has been a player I have been following closely for the past 3-4 years. He has really grown as both a player and a leader on the pitch for the USA National team and had a fantastic season for Schalke this year.
He made 38 appearances for the club and country with the majority of his appearances being in the central midfield and defensive midfield positions.
He has developed greatly on the defensive side of the ball and I believe he would be a perfect fit for the Saints system. Additionally, if you compare his statistics to that of Hojbjerg’s you will see they are very comparable.
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He is still young and still has a lot to learn, but I have to believe Hasenhuttl would be the perfect manager to help him take the next in his career.
If the club are able to sell Hojbjerg for the price they want, there is no reason they should not pursue the American. Hasenhuttl, will likely be able to promise him a good amount of playtime compared to the other clubs and show him that he is building something special at Southampton.