The time has surely turned turbulent for ace USMNT midfielder Weston McKennie. The US star failed to shine in Juventus’ abysmal scoreless draw against Roma in the Serie A. Firstly, McKennie was benched for this high-profile clash. And when he came on, he just put up an impactless cameo. Aggravating McKennie’s woes, USMNT interim coach Mikey Varas excluded him from the 24-player squad for this month’s friendlies. Anyhow, not everyone is ready to buy the Juventus star’s snub. A former USMNT star believes McKennie should be on the US team if Gio Reyna has made it.

Former US players Jimmy Conrad and Charlie Davis recently sat down to have a free-wheeling conversation about the USMNT’s squad for September. Weston McKennie took center stage in the discussion when they started to talk about notable omissions in the roster.

“He[McKennie] is not on the team and apparently we’re being told that he only started full training in the third week of August. So he’s still in ‘preseason mode.’ So they want him to stay at Juventus and focus on getting fully fit for their October international window,” said Conrad, during the recent Call it What You Want episode on CBS.

Co-host Davis interrupted Conrad. “Before you go any further, what mode is Gio Reyna in?” Charlie Davis asked Conrad, criticizing the USMNT and Borussia Dortmund midfielder. And then, Jimmy Conrad played his part in laughing at Reyna’s selection to the USMNT’s September squad. “It always feels like he’s in pre-season mode,” Conrad said in response to Davis.

Thereafter, Conrad cast shadows on a few other USMNT inclusions other than Gio Reyna’s to assert that McKennie and others’ exclusion came out of nowhere.

Weston McKennie’s USMNT snub prompts US legends to question other inclusions

After the USMNT’s front office said that Weston McKennie has to train in Juventus to get out of the pre-season mode, Jimmy Conrad alleged that the US team is not setting the same precedent for all players. “I’m triggered because it already seems like they’re making rules and setting a precedent not being followed by every single player,” said the former USMNT star.

He added, “Look at [Lucas] De La Torre. Can’t even get into the 18 for Celta Vigo, but he’s here. He’s here in this team. Does that make sense?”

The USMNT veteran also lamented the exclusion of Jedi Robinson besides that of Weston McKennie. Anyhow, the US interim coach, Mikey Varas, stated he left McKennie to thrive in Juventus because that’s good for him in the long term. Varas also believes that the USMNT could capitalize on players’ long-term success.

To sum up, McKennie is expected to be back on the USMNT camp for its October friendly against Panama. By that time, Argentine coach Mauricio Pochettino would also hopefully join the US camp.