Every USMNT player in Europe’s top five leagues in 2024-25
Mauricio Pochettino may be leaving the club game amid reports that he’s set to be announced as the next USMNT manager, but it will remain a huge part of his remit to keep tabs with more top American players than ever before turning out for clubs in Europe’s major leagues.
We’ve got a fascinating couple of seasons ahead of the 2026 World Cup, hosted in the United States, Canada and Mexico. With such a talented crop of players and a high-profile coach in the dugout, there will be big expectations for the USMNT to go deep on home soil.
Here’s a closer look at every single American player contracted to a club in one of Europe’s five major leagues (Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga, Ligue 1) in 2024-25.
Antonee Robinson
Kicking things off with a Premier League mainstay.
The Milton Keynes-born left-back has quietly established himself as one of the best players in his position in the Premier League, prompting transfer gossip linking him to a club higher up the table. He remains contracted at Fulham until 2028, while media reports suggest his price tag has been set at £35million.
Robinson has been capped 46 times by the USMNT. It’d take a surprising turn of events for him not to be among the first names on Pochettino’s teamsheet come the World Cup, you’d have thought.
Tyler Adams
Leeds United’s major downturn in form during the Jesse Marsch relegation season coincided with the USMNT captain’s injury – and 18 months on he’s still struggling, having suffered rotten luck.
Adams played more minutes for the USMNT in their disastrous 2024 Copa America group-stage exit than he managed for Bournemouth in the entirety of last season. You’d have to question the wisdom of taking the 25-year-old to the tournament, given he’s since suffered a relapse of a back injury, for which he’s addressed with surgery.
He was absent from Bournemouth’s 2024-25 opener against Nottingham Forest and is not expected back for a number of weeks.
Chris Richards
The defender enjoyed a fine breakthrough season at Crystal Palace after signing from Bayern Munich in 2022, and he’s expected to remain a key cog for Oliver Glasner’s on-the-up side in 2024-25.
Richards played every minute for the USMNT at the Copa America and looks like a shoo-in to retain his place come the World Cup. By then, it wouldn’t be a major shock to see Palace bank a healthy profit on the 24-year-old.
Matt Turner
Nuno Espirito Santo opted for Matz Sels between the sticks for Nottingham Forest’s opener against Bournemouth, with Brazilian summer signing Carlos Miguel taking up the spot on the bench.
That leaves Turner in an awkward spot, only a year after departing Arsenal in search of more regular playing opportunities.
We’ll have to wait to see how this situation develops, but it doesn’t appear that the 30-year-old has benefitted from being lost in Nottingham Forest’s bewildering vortex of signings.
Johnny Cardoso
Born in New Jersey but raised in Brazil, Cardoso made over a hundred appearances for boyhood club Internacional before joining La Liga outfit Real Betis in January.
The 22-year-old midfielder enjoyed a very bright start to life at the Estadio Benito Villamarin and looks more than capable of achieving big things in his first full campaign in Europe.
He’s already being linked with AC Milan, but kicking on with Los Verdiblancos looks the best bet for him for now.
Luca de la Torre
One of American soccer’s lesser-known lights on the European continent, De la Torre caught the eye for an otherwise ordinary Celta Vigo side that spent most of last season battling against the drop in La Liga.
After a 12-minute cameo in the USA’s only Copa America win in the summer, it’ll be interesting to see whether he can kick on to move beyond his current status of squad option.
He was absent from the squad in Celta Vigo’s opening 2-1 victory over Alaves.
Christian Pulisic
While anyone who knows anything about this sport recognises that the “LeBron James of soccer” or “America’s answer to Messi” talk from the more clueless corners of the US media are hilariously wide of the mark, the fact remains that Pulisic is probably the national team’s best player and likely to remain their talisman come 2026.
He might not be at LeBron’s or Messi’s level, but who is? He’s a fine footballer in his own right and already undoubtedly among the best the United States have ever produced.
After losing his way a little on the periphery at Chelsea, moving to Milan appears to have been a big step in the right direction.
The winger enjoyed a better-than-decent debut season at the San Siro, notching 12 goals and eight assists in Serie A. Bigger things might yet be on their way; there remains a sense that we’re still yet to see the best of Pulisic.
Maybe this’ll be his year.
READ: Where are they now? The USMNT XI from Christian Pulisic’s debut in 2016
Yunus Musah
The 21-year-old is among Pulisic’s Rossoneri team-mates.
He made 30 Serie A appearances last term, having moved from Valencia, and will be pushing for more regular starts in his second season at the San Siro.
Appearing off the bench and assisting Noah Okafor’s last-gasp equaliser as Milan came from two goals behind to draw 2-2 against Torino is a nice way to start under new boss Paolo Fonseca.
Weston McKennie
The midfielder’s inauspicious loan move to Leeds United ended with taunts of “you fat b*stard” by the Elland Road faithful as they suffered relegation at the end of the 2022-23 campaign.
To his credit, McKennie put that behind him and kicked on admirably back at parent club Juventus last season, featuring prominently as they booked their return to the Champions League with a top-four finish.
After being frozen out by new boss Thiago Motta during pre-season, with reports linking McKennie with a move back to the Premier League, he’s since been welcomed back into the fold.
He was an unused substitute in Juve’s opening 3-0 victory over Como, but it’s expected he’ll feature in Motta’s plans for 2024-25 with suggestions of a contract extension.
“McKennie is a valuable player for our needs,” Motta told reporters on the eve of Juve’s opener.
Timothy Weah
It’s pretty damn cool that the son of Africa’s only Ballon d’Or winner – and former president of Liberia, no less – was born and raised in Brooklyn and has already made over 40 international appearances for the USMNT.
The winger failed to score a single Serie A goal across 30 appearances last term for Juventus, but he’s already off the mark under new manager Thiago Motta.
We can’t wait to see how Weah fares playing in a more dynamic, attack-minded system with the shackles thrown off. For the first time in forever, Juve look young, hungry and exciting.
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Tanner Tessmann
Not just a satisfying name to say out loud, former FC Dallas midfielder Tanner Tessmann is now a Serie A player, having helped sexy kit merchants Venezia come back after two years in the Italian second tier.
However, he might not be plying his trade in Italy for much longer.
“Tessmann is out of the Venezia project,” Venezia president Filippo Antonelli told Il Gazzettino.
“It’s been a difficult week, try to understand me. I’m sorry above all for the player, for the situation he’s put himself in. At the moment, he’s out of the list of players available for (coach Eusebio) Di Francesco, but it’s his choice.”
He’s been tipped to join Celtic as a replacement for Brighton-bound hotshot Matt O’Riley.
Gianluca Busio
Unlike his midfield partner, Busio is expected to stick around at Venezia beyond the summer.
Injury cut short the 22-year-old’s participation at the recent Paris Olympics but he’s not expected to be out too much longer. A big part of Venezia’s hopes of consolidating their top-flight status.
Giovanni Reyna
Claudio’s boy was tipped to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Pulisic to become a proper American superstar.
His career has stagnated a little following a forgettable half-season loan stint to Nottingham Forest, but now he’s back at parent club Borussia Dortmund and has an opportunity to kick on following a change in the dugout.
He’s only 21. Time is very much on his side.
QUIZ: Can you name every player from the USA to score in the Premier League?
Joe Scally
It’s easy to forget that the full-back is still only 21 years of age, given that his next appearance for Borussia Monchengladbach will be his 100th.
There have been whisperings of a move away, but it appears likely that prodigiously talented Scally will remain at Gladbach for the upcoming 2024-25 Bundesliga campaign.
Kevin Paredes
The Wolfsburg winger was named US Soccer’s Young Male Player of the Year for 2023 and recently caught the eye as one of the breakout stars of the recent Olympics.
Unfortunately, he also made altogether more grim headlines after receiving death threats and racist abuse after fake quotes that disrespected Morocco were attributed to him and spread on social media. Depressingly 2024, that.
Paredes scored three Bundesliga goals for Wolfsburg last season and could be on the verge of a breakout season. A big talent that could become a key cog come 2026.
Lennard Maloney
Heidenheim were among the romantic success stories of last season, having punched well above their weight to finish as high as eighth in the Bundesliga.
Grafting defensive midfielder Maloney will have his work cut out if they’re to replicate anything like that in their second season in the German top flight. Expect bigger sharks to come circling for his signature if they do.
Jordan
Jordan ‘Pefok’ Siebatcheu was born in the USA to Cameroonian parents and raised in France.
Last season the striker scored five Bundesliga goals out on loan at Borussia Monchengladbach and has since returned to parent club Union Berlin for the upcoming 2024-25 campaign.
He wasn’t especially prolific for Union, scoring just four league goals in his last season there, but he did play his part in them upsetting the odds to qualify for the Champions League.
Timothy Chandler
The no-nonsense Pokemon final form of Timothee Chalamat (does this work? Probably not. Oh well.) is a veteran right-back who is gearing up for his 11th successive season at Eintracht Frankfurt.
The 34-year-old boasts a DFB Pokal and a Europa League trophy to his name, but he’s barely featured for the club over the past couple of seasons and doesn’t look likely to earn a USMNT recall, having last featured on the international stage back in 2016.
Noahkai Banks
Banks is a 17-year-old centre-back who’s eligible to play for both the USA and Germany.
But he’s opted for the USA at youth level and recently signed his first professional contract with Augsburg, having developed his skills in their academy over the past 10 years.
“Noahkai is a very talented centre-back, who we believe is capable of making the leap to the Bundesliga,” says Augsburg sporting director Marinko Jurendic.
A senior competitive debut for Augsburg looks likely this season. One to watch.
Cole Campbell
The Houston-born forward has represented Iceland at Under-17 level and, more recently, the USA at Under-19 level.
Campbell, 18, recently signed his first professional contract with Borussia Dortmund. Watch this space.
Folarin Balogun
It was talked up as a real coup that the USA convinced Hale End graduate Balogun to declare for them, rather than England, given the stock placed on him in scouting circles.
Balogun has been talked up as a great No.9 in the making, which makes his seven-goal return at Monaco last term a little underwhelming – a stark contrast to the 21 Ligue 1 goals he notched at Reims the season before.
Still, he only turned 23 in the summer and Monaco have a proven track record of nurturing talented youngsters. It wouldn’t surprise us he scores hatfuls with more regular starts in his second season at the Stade Louis II.
READ: Folarin Balogun & the players who rejected England to play for other nations
Mark McKenzie
Having spent the last three years at Genk, McKenzie has been drafted in by Toulouse this summer.
The centre-back was an unused substitute as Toulouse kicked off the 2024-25 campaign with a 0-0 draw against Nantes.
You imagine his Ligue 1 debut will come soon enough, but for now, Carles Martinez appears to prefer fellow new recruit Charlie Cresswell from Leeds.
Caleb Wiley
Given that Chelsea currently have about a hundred players on their books, it would be easy to forget about 19-year-old summer signing Wiley.
But we’re big fans of the kid and expect a bright future. We’ll be keeping tabs on how he performs at Chelsea’s sister club Strasbourg this season, and so should you.
Emmanuel Sabbi
The winger was part of the USA Under-20’s side that won the CONCACAF Under-20 Championship back in 2017 and has since made one senior international appearance.
Last season Sabbi notched five goals and one assist in 30 Ligue 1 appearances for Le Havre and will be hoping to better that tally in 2024-25. He only made a late cameo in their opening weekend 3-1 defeat to Strasbourg.