Leeds United are no longer expected to make Weston McKennie's loan deal at Elland Road permanent, according to Football Insider.
What’s the latest Leeds news on McKennie?
The midfielder made the move to West Yorkshire during the January transfer window shortly before former manager Jesse Marsch was sacked. Leeds managed to negotiate a £30m option to buy with Juventus for McKennie in the summer, although that was viewed as financially impossible if the club suffered relegation to the Championship.
However, if the club remained in the Premier League, reports suggested they were expected to trigger their permanent transfer clause, with personal terms even agreed, but it looks as if Andrea Radrizzani and the 49ers Enterprises have now made a U-turn.
Football Insider reporter Pete O’Rourke shared a new update he’s heard from Leeds regarding McKennie on Wednesday evening.
He revealed that the Whites are not set to trigger the clause which would turn a move into a permanent transfer if they remain in the Premier League. As a result, the USA international looks set to return to Juventus in the summer, where he is under contract until 2025.
Should Leeds be signing McKennie permanently?
McKennie has now made 12 appearances for Leeds since joining, starting eight Premier League games. Javi Gracia has used the 24-year-old alongside Marc Roca in recent weeks with Tyler Adams sidelined through injury, with McKennie coming in for praise from Paul Robinson during the 2-1 win over Nottingham Forest.
Should the club avoid the drop in the run-in, you’d expect that McKennie would have played his part due to the club’s shortage of options in central midfield.
You could argue that a full-time transfer would therefore make sense, however, it would set Leeds back £30m, and with the club recently learning they have been ordered to pay Jean-Kevin Augustin £24.5m for a breach of contract, they may be looking to take a step back and reassess their finances.
The club did bring in big money after selling Kalvin Phillips and Raphinha last summer but have spent that on this season's summer and winter window signings, so they may be wary of splashing the cash once more.
Georginio Rutter is a prime example of a big-money transfer not making an immediate impact as he is still to get off the mark in front of goal, and with McKennie the club’s 15th-best performer this season, as per WhoScored, Leeds may see a transfer as a gamble.
