Transfer season never ends, even during a summer full of tournaments. The Copa America, European Championship and Olympics are all set for this summer, but that’s doesn’t halt the reports and rumors. If anything, it sends them into overdrive.
The U.S. men’s national team isn’t immune to the silliness. After a standout season of transfers from several of the team’s top stars, several others are now being linked with moves of their own heading into a busy summer of international duty.
Copa America will be massive in that regard, with the tournament serving as a big shop window for clubs all over the world to look into. Many scouts, coaches and sporting directors will be keeping a close eye on the USMNT, a team that has several players that both could, and should, be on the move.
But who are those players and why should they be looking to move on? GOAL takes a look at the USMNT stars most in need of transfers this summer…
10Weston McKennie
Weston McKennie doesn’t need a move, but Juventus may force him into one. Reports have suggested that the midfielder and his club are far apart in contract talks, with the Bianconeri unwilling to give him the pay raise that he earned this past season.
McKennie was one of the club’s standouts, but that may not be enough to earn him the deal he wants, particularly with a new manager coming in. So could he make a move this summer?
There are few vertical moves from Juventus, one of the biggest clubs in the world. The club may force McKennie’s hand, though, particularly if a Premier League team steps in with the right sort of offer for both player and club.
9Antonee Robinson
For years, Antonee Robinson has been linked with a move away from Fulham. But he’s stayed on at Craven Cottage, emerging as one of the Premier League’s top left-backs in the process.
He came close to moving to AC Milan long before Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah arrived, only for a medical to end any hopes of a move. Manchester City and Liverpool have also been linked with Robinson in recent years, too.
The 26-year-old is clearly comfortable at Fulham and there’s no reason for him to force his way out of a stable Premier League club. If he wants a crack at the top, top levels of the game, though, he may need to make that call sooner rather than later.
8Haji Wright
Haji Wright enjoyed a superb debut season at Coventry City, as he scored 16 goals while providing seven assists for the Sky Blues. Is that enough for him to go one-and-done in the Championship, though?
Wright is already something of a world traveler, having played in Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Turkey and now England. Maybe he’ll be glad to have found a home, but maybe he’ll be eager for a new challenge after a good run in the second tier.
It seems he’ll play on the wing this summer for the USMNT, but he could feature as a No.9, too. Clubs all over the world are always looking for goal-scorers, and Wright has a chance to prove he can continue to be exactly that at the Copa.
7Cameron Carter-Vickers
Is there anything left for Cameron Carter-Vickers to achieve at Celtic? The defender has now won seven trophies in Glasgow, including three league titles in as many seasons. He’s conquered Scottish soccer after years of loan spells away from Tottenham… so could it be time for a return to England?
The defender has long been linked with moves to the Premier League, but nothing has ever worked out. At 26, he’s entering his prime, which means this summer could be his best chance to earn a move to the world’s biggest league.
6Auston Trusty
It wasn’t a good season for Sheffield United. They finished dead last in the Premier League by a considerable margin and were deservedly relegated long before the end of the season. For Auston Trusty, that means a return to the Championship… at least probably.
At the moment, Trusty is out of the picture for the Copa America, having been left off the June squad. A lot can change by the time the tournament kicks-off, though.
Even without a Copa showcase, Trusty is a player that could stay in the Premier League. He had some tough moments, for sure, but there could very well be a team convinced that he could help them if given the chance.
If not, a drop back down to the Championship wouldn’t be so bad. Trusty has already shined at that level… but could he still latch on at a higher one?
5Josh Sargent
Has Josh Sargent earned a move back up the ladder? Almost certainly. The American lit up the Championship last season, scoring 16 goals in just 28 appearances for Norwich City. Despite those heroics, the Canaries fell short of their goal, losing in the semifinals of the promotion playoffs to remain in the Championship.
But, while Norwich may not be going up, Sargent certainly could. He looks better-equipped for the Premier League than when he first arrived from Werder Bremen in 2021, and if placed at the right club, Sargent could be a legitimate goal-scorer at a higher level.
Is that level in England or abroad? Or does Sargent go for one more healthy season at Norwich? If he scores plenty at the Copa America, Norwich will be desperate to cash in, and Sargent will certainly have earned a big move.
4Brenden Aaronson
If Leeds had gone up, this would be a very different conversation. The club is set for another season in the Championship, though, which leaves Brenden Aaronson’s future a bit uncertain.
He left the club on loan following Leeds’ relegation, joining Union Berlin. His time in the Bundesliga will have done little to earn any new admirers, though. He struggled through most of the season and will now head back to Elland Road in no better position than where he started.
Could a season in the Championship do him some good? Possibly. He definitely hasn’t shown that he’s too big for Leeds or England’s second division, although a move away from the club altogether may be best for all parties.
3Sergino Dest
Sergino Dest will be moving somewhere, for sure, but he timing of that has been messed up, to say the least. Dest’s disastrous ACL injury almost certainly prevented PSV from buying him outright ahead of the summer window. The American defender was fantastic in his return to the Eredivisie, rediscovering much that was lost during his tough time at Barcelona.
Due to the injury, though, he’ll head back to Spain, where he’ll be out of action until 2025. As a result, it’s unlikely a club will come for him this summer, leaving him in a bit of limbo until that ACL is healed up.
2Matt Turner
Matt Turner joined Nottingham Forest to escape being a backup. By the end of the season, though, that’s exactly the role he again found himself fulfilling.
A rough first half of the season saw Turner dropped to the bench, largely due to a series of Premier League blunders. It wasn’t anything close to what Turner needed after he moved on from Arsenal in search of playing time last summer.
It seems Forest have given up on him, so Turner will likely be on the move once again. So what will his suitors look like? That depends on the Copa America, probably, as a good run this summer could ensure he doesn’t tumble too far down the European pyramid.
1Gio Reyna
If there is one USMNT player in need of a big change, it’s Gio Reyna. His loan spell at Nottingham Forest was horrendous, a miscalculated mess from the beginning. The move came about only because his playing time at Borussia Dortmund had dried up, but he never found many minutes in Nottingham either.
The problem is that, with Dortmund’s Champions League success this season, there likely won’t be a spot for Reyna when he returns. Marco Reus is leaving, so maybe those minutes will open up, but it’ll all come down to manager Edin Terzic, who has already proven that he doesn’t have much faith in Reyna.
It’s a big summer for Reyna, hen, who could help boost his profile a bunch with a good Copa America run.
