Weston McKennie has only angered Leeds fans again after what he claimed about last season

However, his time at Elland Road went so badly that Leeds were expected to get out of that deal even if he had stayed up, although that was irrelevant anyway as they were relegated with a whimper.

Over the course of 19 appearances for Leeds, McKennie started 16 of them and ended up on the winning side on just three occasions. He became very much a lightning rod for supporters’ criticism until the end.

McKennie has since admitted that he let the Leeds supporters down with his performances, even suggesting that his fitness levels were not up to the task for him to succeed, a worrying claim for a professional footballer.

McKennie tells why he decided to move to Leeds

Former Leeds midfielder Tyler Adams said earlier this week that he felt he had let McKennie down by getting injured so early after arriving on loan. They only started five games together.

Considering McKennie was coming from a club like Juventus, that’s an excuse that hardly washes away. The only real excuse he can have is the ridiculous number of managers he played under at Leeds.

Amid reports he could be set for a return to the Premier League, McKennie has now opened up about the reasons behind his decision to move to Leeds in a new interview with Athletic.

Incredibly de McKennie revealed that he saw Leeds simply as a stepping stone to try and secure a move to another club in England, primarily one playing in the top five.

He said: “When I went there he was more like, ‘OK, I want to go here, do really well, put up numbers, help the team stay up and then hopefully another top five Premier League team to come and see how well I played and then they would buy me’.

“With all due respect to Leeds and their fans, I love Champions League football. I like to play at the highest level. Leeds was more of a place I wanted to go to experience something new, the Premier League.

“But there is no better place to be seen by Premier League teams than if you are playing in the Premier League. I won’t be able to know what would have happened if Leeds had stayed awake because it didn’t happen that way.

“Things happen the way they do for a reason. And now I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.”

Considering how poor McKennie was, it’s pretty amazing that he’s now come out and claimed that these are the reasons behind his move.

Even if that’s true, it should be something he’s now looking to keep to himself as he proved very quickly that he wasn’t up to Premier League standard, never mind the Premier League.

McKennie may have had a better campaign at Juve last season with seven assists, however he is still a midfielder who has failed to score a goal in 34 league appearances.

No wonder Juve are now trying to include him in a two-man-plus-money swap with Aston Villa for Douglas Luiz, where he certainly wouldn’t be good enough to start.

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