Americans in England Kick Off New Season 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

“I've played a lot of my best football with the national team, where I've always felt like I'm well respected within the national team and I feel very confident and ready to go. And I think that's a big reason why I've had success there. And also my best times in recent years is when I'm feeling confident and trusted and like I'm wanting to play.”

—Christian Pulisic to Rog, from an interview we recorded with the American star on Wednesday. Podcast and video drop on Friday. Please check back then!

The First Big Weekend:

This is it. Cue the Scottish indie duo whose band name doubles as a curious, old-school sexual contraption. It’s the first big weekend of the summer.

Yes, the Premier League technically kicked things off last weekend, with Matt Turner 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (29; Park Ridge, NJ) putting on a decent display against his old mates in what was technically his Premier League debut, and Tim Ream 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (35; St. Louis, MO) and Antonee Robinson 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (26; Liverpool, ENG) getting right back up to their old, incredibly-competent-if-not-sublime ways at Fulham. But this weekend is (hopefully) the one where Americans are going to be flying across pitches not just in England, but all over Europe.

The fun starts on Friday, as Turner and Forest host Auston Trusty 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (25; Media, PA) and Sheffield United, with both sides out for their first points of the new season.

Saturday starts with Fulhamerica-Brentford from London, followed by Paxten Aaronson 🇩🇪 (19; Medford, NJ) and Timothy Chandler 🇩🇪 (33; Frankfurt, GER) hosting SV Darmstadt in their first Bundesliga match of the season. Then later, Ricardo Pepi 🇳🇱 (20; El Paso, TX), Malik Tillman 🇳🇱 (21; Nürnberg, GER) and PSV head to Vitesse in Matchweek 2 of the Eredivisie.

Sunday has two more American duos in action, as Brenden Aaronson 🇩🇪 (22; Medford, NJ) may make his Union Berlin debut alongside Jordan Pefok 🇩🇪 (27; Washington, DC) against Mainz, while later Tim Weah 🇮🇹 (23; Rosedale, NY) could be a starter for Juventus in their Serie A opener at Udinese. Weston McKennie 🇮🇹 (24; Little Elm, TX) hopefully to see some playing time for the Bianconeri as well.

Monday’s the big one, though, as Christian Pulisic 🇮🇹 (24; Hershey, PA), Yunus Musah 🇮🇹 (20; London, ENG) and AC Milan head to Bologna in their first Serie A match of the season. We’ll also have an eye on Palace-Arsenal to see if Chris Richards 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (23; Birmingham, AL) gets any minutes. But the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara will be home to U.S. Soccer history, as CP11’s Italian career officially gets underway. A fresh start for one of the finest talents America has ever produced.

American Strikers Get Off the Mark in Europe:

It was a great week for a trio of American No. 9s abroad. On Tuesday, Ricardo Pepi scored his first official goal for PSV in their Champions League qualifier against Sturm Graz (WATCH). PSV advanced 7-2 on aggregate, and now face Rangers over two legs to qualify for UCL Group Play.

Josh Sargent 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (23; O’Fallon, MO) scored his first goal of the season for Norwich City on Saturday against Southampton (WATCH). After finishing last season as the Canaries’ leading goal-scorer, Sargent could be set up for an even more productive year at Carrow Road, especially considering the early chemistry that’s already developed between the American and new attack-mate Ashley Barnes.

Haji Wright 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (25; Los Angeles, CA) also found the back of the net this past weekend in Coventry City’s 3-0 win over Middlesbrough (WATCH AT 0:49). Wright was a sub in his first two league matches with the Sky Blues, but he’s already earning the trust and confidence of his teammates. “He was a threat, he held the ball up and I am really glad he got his goal. It will be really good for him,” said Coventry midfielder Ben Sheaf after the Boro victory. “He was a real threat and he is only going to get better and get to know us better.”

Americans Abroad Transfer Updates:

After things didn’t work out with Chelsea, Tyler Adams 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (24; Wappingers Falls, NY) may have another Premier League suitor stepping up, as Michael B. Jordan’s Bournemouth were reportedly set to activate Adams’ relegation release clause with Leeds. Yet the day after these reports surfaced, the USMNT midfielder was said to be back training with Leeds, with manager Daniel Farke hinting that the clause had expired. Stay tuned. … AS Monaco are reportedly going back in with a second bid for Arsenal’s Folarin Balogun 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (22; London, ENG). The USMNT striker is also said to be drawing interest from Inter Milan and Spurs. … Another American No. 9, Jordan Pefok, has been linked with a move from Union Berlin to Borussia Monchengladbach, where he’d reunite with former Young Boys coach Gerry Seoane (In German) … Bologna have reportedly made a revised bid for San Jose Earthquakes striker Cade Cowell 🇺🇸 (19; Ceres, CA), while La Liga side Cadiz are said to be interested in FC Dallas forward Jesus Ferreira 🇺🇸 (22; McKinney, TX). … Sergino Dest’s 🇪🇸 (22; Almere, NED) days with Barcelona appear to be drawing to a close. Here’s to hoping the speedy right back finds a new home soon.

News and Notes:

• Cameron Carter-Vickers 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 (25; Southend-on-Sea, ENG) had to be subbed off at halftime of Celtic’s 3-1 win over Aberdeen Sunday. “Cam just felt his hamstring towards the end of the half. We will assess that and hopefully it will not be too bad,” said manager Brendan Rodgers after the match. 💚

• Gio Reyna 🇩🇪 (20; Bedford, NY) did not play in Dortmund’s DFB Pokal on Saturday match due to the calf injury he suffered during CONCACAF Nations League duty in June. No word on whether he’ll be available for BVB’s season-opener against FC Köln on Saturday, which will be broadcast live on ABC.

• Auston Trusty sat down for an excellent interview with BBC Sheffield, where he talked about how proud he and other Americans Abroad are to play in Europe, as well as the challenges of growing up playing soccer in the U.S. Be sure to listen to the full episode here.

• Luca de la Torre 🇪🇸 (25; San Diego, CA) came off the bench in the 81st minute for Celta Vigo in their La Liga opener, a 2-0 home loss to Osasuna.

• Kevin Paredes 🇩🇪 (20; South Riding, VA) was scheduled to return to training this week, and could be available for Wolfsburg’s Bundesliga opener Saturday against U.S. U20 Lennard Maloney 🇩🇪 (23; Berlin, GER) and Heidenheim.

• Gaga Slonina 🇧🇪 (19; Addison, IL) started and played the full 90 in KAS Eupen’s 5-0 loss to Club Brugge in Belgium.

• Konrad de la Fuente 🇪🇸 (22; Barcelona, ESP) made his Eibar debut in the 68th minute of their 4-0 loss at Racing Santander. No match highlights, but here’s some footage of KDLF in training.

• Taylor Booth 🇳🇱 (22; Eden, UT) came off due to injury in first half of FC Utrecht’s 2-0 loss to PSV. He later posted a message to his IG saying he’d be back soon. 💪

Parting Shots:

Despite falling to Man City 2-0, there were positives for Burnley in their season-opening return to the Premier League, namely the play of young Luca Koleosho 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿. The 18-year-old winger born in Norwalk, Conn. was lively on the ball, yet composed in possession, and helped create some of the Clarets’ best chances on the night.

Despite having just joined Burnley from Espanyol over the summer, Koleosho talked to the club website about how comfortable he’s already finding life at Turf Moor. “From day one, they integrated me very fast, and I'm very comfortable with everybody now, and I'm just loving it over here." Eligible to play internationally for the U.S., Canada and Italy, Koleosho most recently played for the Italian U19s, but could still make a switch to the USMNT, a move U.S. Soccer would likely welcome given his play in England.

More: Koleosho’s career off to fast start from day one (The Athletic)

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