Ranking the 10 Best Americans Playing with European Clubs Right Now

A couple of decades ago, very few players from the United States had made a successful transition to European football.

Unless you were a goalkeeper, the step-up usually appeared to be a little too high. There were a few outfield players, like Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey and Brian McBride, who made a success of their Euro trip, but they were rare stories of American soccer star-power—despite the country boasting one of the world's highest populations.

But with the nation finally starting to embrace the round-ball version of football, U.S. internationals are popping up all over the place. And with the appointment of Mauricio Pochettino as the national team's head coach and the World Cup being held in North America in 2026, hopes for the USMNT have never been higher.

Here, we've ranked 10 of the best U.S. players who are planting their flags in Europe, judged on factors like statistical output, potential, quality of league played in, and appearances.

10. Haji Wright – Coventry City, Championship (England)

Wright sneaks into the top 10 ahead of another USMNT player who is based in England's second tier.

Brenden Aaronson will have something to say about that, but the 26-year-old has been consistently prolific for the last three seasons. Wright bagged 29 league goals in two seasons in the Turkish Super Lig with Antalyaspor, and then he grabbed 16 in his first Championship season with the Sky Blues. He also notched three during an FA Cup campaign that took underdogs Coventry all the way to the semi-final.

He's picked up where he left off last season with five goals in 12 league games, and he'll hope that kind of form keeps him in the mind of Pochettino in the buildup to 2026's world football showcase.

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9. Yunus Musah – AC Milan, Serie A (Italy)

Musah hasn't seen the field as much as he would have this season, but he's been suiting up for high-profile European clubs for the last four years and he's still just 21 years old.

Now in his second season with Milan after three years with Valencia in Spain, the Arsenal academy graduate has featured six times for the Rossoneri in league play this year, but he has only lined up in the starting XI once. He has one opening-day assist for his troubles.

The midfielder will want to up his minutes ahead of the biggest opportunity of his young football career, but he's been a regular starter for the USMNT over the last two years, and he'll only be dislodged if a remarkable talent emerges from elsewhere or his form takes a severe nosedive.

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8. Josh Sargent – Norwich City, Championship (England)

At 22 years old, Sargent struggled to put his stamp on the Premier League, scoring just two in 26 games for Norwich City.

He's finding his feet in the second tier, though, putting the ball in the net 13 times in 2022-23 and 16 times in 2023-14 (the latter coming in significantly fewer appearances).

The center forward is a vital player for Norwich as they try to return to the top flight, and his recent turn as a provider is adding a useful facet to his game. He has five assists in 12 games so far, the most he's achieved in any season of his professional career.

That unselfishness will be so important as he tries to force his way into a U.S. side that has no shortage of attacking talent. If he can help get Norwich promoted, he can perhaps show those teething problems in England's top flight are behind him and make a case for an international starting berth.

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7. Joe Scally – Borussia Monchengladbach, Bundesliga (Germany)

Scally was one of the few USMNT players who emerged from the 2024 Copa America with credit still in the bank.

The defender was a dependable feature of a rearguard that otherwise disappointed, and his ventures forward helped to support an attacking unit that mostly floundered.

He's been a regular starter for over three years in the Bundesliga in a number of positions, which is pretty impressive when you consider he's still just 21 years old.

With Sergiño Dest out for the foreseeable future with a cruciate ligament tear and likely to need plenty of time to fully recover upon his return, Scally can claim the USMNT's right-back spot as his own—and his positional versatility won't do his chances of selection any harm, either.

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6. Ricardo Pepi – PSV, Eredivisie (The Netherlands)

Pepi is slowly rebuilding his stock after a move to Augsburg in Germany nearly three years ago fell pretty flat.

He failed to score in 11 games after his January transfer, signifying to the Bundesliga side that this was just another case of a player who couldn't bring their MLS form to the European stage.

But a successful loan stint at Groningen put him back on the radar, and he followed that up with some impressive cameos at PSV a year later. Now, after signing with the Eindhoven club permanently, he's got five in nine games for the side at the top of the Eredivisie.

The USMNT was wise to get him capped in the early stages of his professional career, ensuring he'll represent the Stars and Stripes at international level rather than Mexico.

In an upcoming World Cup that will be played in both nations, that will be a highly motivating factor as the player seeks to truly make his mark at the tournament.

By now, McKennie should really be higher on this list. The 26-year-old has been a club regular in Europe since 2017, but despite his tantalizing potential, he never quite reached the levels many expected.

Still, he remains a consistent starter at one of the biggest clubs in Serie A, and that speaks plenty about his professional status—even if some predicted he might have been approaching stardom at this stage of his career.

After falling out of favor at Juventus in 2022-23, he closed out the season on loan at Leeds United in the Premier League, giving him an extra taste of European top-flight football that boosted his experience and expanded his knowledge.

He seemed to translate that into more opportunities in a black-and-white shirt, starting 29 games last season and providing seven assists in Serie A action.

Now, McKennie will want to establish himself at the Old Lady under a new manager, while also impressing the new man in charge of the national team.

He went off the boil a bit last season, but Balogun remains one of the USMNT's brightest stars.

Things were always going to be difficult when settling in at a new permanent club, and seven goals and six assists in 29 league appearances isn't a bad haul. However, coming off a campaign in which he bagged 21 in 37 Ligue 1 games for Stade Reims, it does look like a step backward on paper.

The 23-year-old has started the season in fine form, although a shoulder injury has hampered his progress. A strike rate of one goal every two games is pretty encouraging for the team sitting second in Ligue 1.

Balogun needs to prove himself again this year to secure a starting berth on the international stage. With the attacking positions probably the USMNT's strongest area, he'll want to stand out from the pack and prove why his name should be one of the first on the teamsheet.

Playing alongside Pepi at PSV, Tillman is quickly becoming an essential part of the USMNT's future—and that familiarity could yet play dividends at international level.

The 22-year-old is getting better and better as the years go on, covering positions in midfield and attack while regularly demonstrating his quality on the ball and adept interpretation of space.

His loan spell at Scottish side Rangers and his time at PSV has given him vital experience against some of Europe's finest clubs in the UEFA Champions League, which is something that few USMNT players can claim to have on their resume.

After scoring nine and assisting 11 for PSV in the Eredivisie last season, he already has five league goals and one assist in the 2024-25 campaign. This could be Tillman's breakout season after permanently settling at PSV, and U.S. soccer fans will be watching his progression keenly.

The man they call Jedi has steadily transformed into one of the finest left-backs in England's top flight.

The 27-year-old had a standout campaign in 2023-24, providing defensively solidity and attacking verve, with the latter resulting in six Premier League assists. He has two helpers already this term.

His pace, positional sense, and powers of recovery have reportedly put him on the radar of Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City, according to the Liverpool Echo.

Robinson has all but cemented his spot in the USMNT's back line, starting in all three Copa America games and providing an assist. That has given the national team a solid balance on either side of the rearguard with Scally on the other side.

His star continues to rise, and regardless of whether he earns a move to a top club, he's already doing the business for Fulham against quality opposition every single week.

For a minute, it looked like Christain Pulisic's football career would be a tale of "what might have been?" as injuries continued to keep him off the field while at Chelsea.

However, a move to AC Milan has proved revitalizing, and he's re-established himself as the USMNT's true Captain America and boosted the national team's prospects.

He scored 12 and set up nine in Serie A last season, and he's burst out of the traps in 2024-25, scoring five and assisting three in just eight league games. He's also added two goals in three Champions League fixtures.

He's the USMNT's talisman, its captain, and the nation's one great hope, and it's just a case of ensuring the 26-year-old can remain fit in the months to come as the team gears up for a World Cup campaign that's partially on home soil.

Pulisic is the best American player plying their trade in Europe, and honestly, it wasn't a particularly close contest.