“He had many people against him” – Weston McKennie defends former Juventus teammate | OneFootball

Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie explains what went wrong for Moise Kean during his second spell at the club.

The 24-year-old rose through the ranks of the Bianconeri and had his big breakthrough in 2019 before being sold to Everton. He then returned to Turin two years later as a late replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo who suddenly left the club just before the transfer deadline.

However, the Italian failed to recapture the magic of his original spell. He even failed to score a goal throughout the previous campaign which was also marred with injuries.

Nevertheless, Fiorentina decided to bet on the bomber, and it proved to be a shrewd piece of business on the Tuscans’ part. Kean has already scored 13 goals across all competitions, presenting himself as one of the most consistent strikers in Italy and Europe.

For his part, McKennie isn’t surprised by his former teammate’s exploits. The Texan believes the former PSG man simply needed the right coach and environment, and these factors were apparently lacking at Continassa.

“No, I’m not surprised. I spoke to him on the phone before the last Coppa Italia match,” said the midfielder in his interview with CBS via IlBianconero.

“He has all the right credentials, that is, he’s a beast, he has strength, he has speed, he has quality, he has the ability to do everything.

“He just needed a coach or someone who believed in him and gave him confidence and minutes in the game and brought out that side of him. I’m not surprised at all, that he’s having this kind of season. I told him to stay on this track because he deserves it.

“When he was here there were a lot of people who doubted him and a lot of people against him. It was a bit unfair. Just because he’s a striker and he has to score goals, but it’s difficult to do that when you come on in the last 10 minutes of every game.” concluded McKennie.