Grading Notable USMNT Players' 2022-23 Club Seasons

Do you want to feel old for a minute? You do? Great.

Remember when Weston McKennie moved to Leeds United from Juventus on loan, and it was going to help save the Premier League club's season? That was only four months ago.

What about when Sergiño Dest went to AC Milan from Barcelona, and people were excited about it? Well, that was only eight months ago.

Or what about when Antonee Robinson pulled out a card trick that went viral and left his Fulham teammates in shock? That wasn't even a year ago, it was in preseason in July.

It's been a long and winding year for a number of United States men's national team players plying their trades across Europe.

Now that the major European leagues are either done or just one week away from the end of their seasons, we're grading how the biggest U.S. players fared in the 2022-23 campaign.

Fortunately for the U.S., there are a number of talented USMNT-eligible players at big clubs on the continent. For the purpose of this piece, though, we're only grading key players who featured at the 2022 World Cup and played in the top flight in England, Spain, France, Germany and Italy this season.

Alright, let's get to the grades.

With his engaging personality, aggressive defending and leadership, it's hard not to love Tyler Adams.

Leeds fans got on board the Adams train pretty quickly this year, with at least one fans group voting him as its player of the year before the end of 2022, despite him not arriving until the fall.

On the field, the 24-year-old played over 2,000 Premier League minutes before a hamstring injury ended his season.

Still, when he played this year, Adams looked like the same elite, ground-covering defensive midfielder we've seen change games for the USMNT.

It's hard to imagine he is to blame for many of Leeds' struggles in 2023, though. By winning the ball all over the field, he helped make Jesse Marsch's pressing style work (at least for a while) and then helped ease the transition after the former manager was fired.

Adams didn't appear to develop his game this year—his passing game and ball control are still unrefined—but at 24, he's probably not going to develop much further.

For the USMNT's sake, hopefully he'll be ready to go for the CONCACAF Nations League semifinal against Mexico on June 15.

Grade: B+

Like Adams, Brenden Aaronson joined Leeds ahead of the 2022-23 season.

Schooled in Red Bull Salzburg's aggressive, front-foot style, the 22-year-old was a logical acquisition for a team that was preparing to play Marsch's high-pressing game.

Between some difficulty adapting to the Premier League—Aaronson had only previously played for Salzburg in the Austrian Bundesliga and Philadelphia Union in Major League Soccer—and a lack of stability on the sidelines at the club, he had a muted impact this season. He scored just one goal in more than 2,300 minutes.

His pressing ability and work rate are both elite in the global game, but his ability to change games against set defenses is clearly lacking.

With Leeds' managerial situation up in the air heading into next season, Aaronson should hope the team finds a coach who loves pressing as much as he does. Otherwise, he'll need to work on his close control, vision and technical ability this summer.

Grade: C-

Weston McKennie never really had a chance to settle into things this season, did he?

The 24-year-old started the season with Juventus, where he played all over the field. From one wing to the other to central midfield, he was a utility player in Italy before moving to Leeds on loan in the January transfer window.

However, McKennie wasn't enough to help Leeds emerge from the bottom three and wasn't especially impactful during his time on loan.

Other than his time linking up with Adams and Aaronson, the former FC Dallas player's time at Elland Road won't be remembered far into the future.

Instead, focus will shift to the summer: Will Juventus keep him or will he be moved to another club? Time will tell.

Grade: C+

It was yet another injury-filled year for Christian Pulisic.

The 24-year-old missed two months of the season with knee issues and only collected 931 minutes across the Premier League and UEFA Champions League in 2022-23.

Injuries have been a major theme for Pulisic almost throughout his entire career. He's never played more than 1,750 minutes in a single league season at any point for either Chelsea or Borussia Dortmund.

Between those injury problems and a revolving door for head coaches at Stamford Bridge, it was an extremely difficult year for Pulisic. Moving from Thomas Tuchel to Graham Potter to Frank Lampard left the USMNT star (and no doubt the rest of the squad) in limbo for large stretches of the season.

When Pulisic was on the field for Chelsea, he struggled to create any consistent danger in the attack. He scored just one goal this year and created fewer quality shots and key passes than the average Premier League attacker.

Overall, it's difficult to put all of the blame for a bad year on Pulisic, given that his injury issues are at least partially outside of his control. But it was a down year for the winger.

Grade: D

Despite playing only 600 minutes in the Bundesliga, this year was the most productive season of Gio Reyna's career.

The 20-year-old scored seven goals for Borussia Dortmund and even picked up two assists on the final Bundesliga matchday. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite enough for a team that just missed out on the title to Bayern Munich.

With injuries again hindering his ability to stay on the field for 90 minutes at a time, Reyna started just four times for BVB this year. But he was clearly impactful during his minutes off the bench. He finished tied for fifth on the team in goals, regularly finding good spots in the box to finish off attacking sequences.

If Reyna can stay healthy and continue to develop the goal threat he showed this season, he'll be a genuine difference-maker next season for Dortmund. His lack of consistent playing time hurts his grade this year, but he clearly has a bright future.

Grade: B

What a year for Tim Ream.

With Fulham back in the Premier League and solidifying their status with a 10th-place finish, the 35-year-old started 33 league games and played nearly 2,900 minutes at center back.

The only reason he didn't start the other five Premier League games is because of a broken arm against Manchester City at the end of April.

Speaking of City, USMNT fans aren't the only ones to notice Ream's skillful passing and calm defensive presence. Pep Guardiola praised him after the first meeting between Fulham and City earlier this season, apparently telling him: "If you were 24 instead of 34, you'd be playing for me."

The veteran defender responded: "I'm not even 34, I'm 35!"

It was truly a banner season for Ream, but he will miss the USMNT's summer tournaments due to his broken arm.

Grade: A

Except when he's doing magic tricks, Antonee Robinson is almost never flashy.

The 25-year-old works hard at left back, moves up and down the wing, and he eats up a ton of minutes. That was certainly true this year, with Robinson reaching 3,000 Premier League minutes with Fulham as their starter at the position.

Even with a World Cup sandwiched in the middle of the Premier League season, he didn't miss a beat in England.

The former Wigan Athletic man wasn't particularly impactful in the attack: He collected just one assist and took three shots all season.

However, with his durability and mobility, he was a steady presence on the left side of Fulham's shape in every phase of the game.

You can rely on Robinson to add consistent effort and athleticism to the backline, which is exactly what fans saw at Craven Cottage this season.

Grade: B

If Sergiño Dest could wipe this club season from his memory bank, we're guessing he would.

After starting the season at Barcelona, the 22-year-old was loaned to AC Milan in Serie A before the close of the summer transfer window. That move was supposed to act as a fresh start, but the switch turned sour very quickly.

The right back played just 329 minutes in Serie A for Milan and reached the point where he wasn't even being named in matchday squads by manager Stefano Pioli.

Even with Milan's deep run to the Champions League semifinals, the former Ajax player didn't feature for the team after a Serie A game against Lazio on January 24.

It's safe to say that this season was something close to a total waste for Dest, who desperately needs to find a club that will embrace his technical ability and help him grow the defensive side of his game.

Grade: F

Sure, he isn't Arsenal's starting goalkeeper, but Matt Turner had a strong season in England.

After moving from the New England Revolution last summer, the 28-year-old served as the Gunners' cup goalkeeper. He started for Mikel Arteta in the Europa League and FA Cup, staying sharp enough to help lead the USMNT out of its group at the 2022 World Cup.

Turner didn't just play in the Europa League this year, he shined for Arsenal. Across 450 minutes in that competition, he saved the London club 0.36 goals more than expected per 90 minutes, according to FBref's shot-stopping metric.

It seems unlikely Turner will beat out Aaron Ramsdale for Arsenal's No. 1 spot ahead of next season, but that shouldn't take away from a strong first campaign in England for the USMNT star.

Grade: B+

At this point, it seems impossible for Yunus Musah to find any sort of stability at Valencia.

Since the 20-year-old linked up with the first team at the Mestalla Stadium before the start of the 2020-21 La Liga season, he's played for five different managers.

He's been repeatedly forced to play on the wing, despite the fact that his best position is as a central midfielder. Out wide, he doesn't have nearly as many chances to drop deep, collect the ball, hold off an opponent and cut through a defense with the ball at his feet.

Even with so much managerial turnover, the former Arsenal academy starlet played over 2,100 minutes in La Liga this year. He's still likely ready to move on to the next stage (and club) of his career.

Based on reports, there's no shortage of interest in Musah from clubs in England.

Grade: B-

I'll be honest, I didn't have "Tim Weah plays most of his Ligue 1 minutes as a full back" on my bingo card for this year.

Clearly, I should have, given that he spent time at both right and left back for Lille in France before and after the World Cup.

The 23-year-old played a few minutes at full back prior to this season, but dropping back a line from winger to outside back was still an unexpected positional shift.

Even though the change came out of left field, I have to admit: I like it. Weah has never been a consistent goal threat at any point in his career, and he's never scored more than three in a single season.

The former New York Red Bulls player has speed, technical ability and good spatial awareness, but he's not a great one-on-one dribbler. He's never excelled at creating his own shots, so moving him to full back makes sense. It gives him a chance to use his positive attributes more often and puts less pressure on him to be the player finishing off attacks.

It's difficult to say what role Weah will play for his club next season—and this year wasn't a remarkable one—but having added positional versatility can't be a bad thing.

Grade: B