The five biggest USMNT players set to become free agents in 2025: McKennie at Juventus, MLS veteran…

With Mauricio Pochettino set to be appointed the new manager of the United States men’s national team, excitement is building within American soccer for the 2026 World Cup that the US will co-host with neighbours Mexico and Canada.

But several USMNT stars could be forgiven for not being able to look that far ahead as they face uncertainty and upheaval at club level before then.

Here are five United States internationals on course to be free agents in 2025.

Weston McKennie

Weston McKennie appeared destined to depart Juventus for most of the summer.

The 25-year-old USMNT midfielder enjoyed the most productive season of his four-year stay in Turin last term , playing 34 of the Bianconeri’s 38 Serie A games and delivering a career-best return of seven assists.

By the end of the campaign, though, the former Schalke player became the subject of transfer speculation. He was first linked with a move to Aston Villa as a makeweight in Juventus’ efforts to sign Douglas Luiz from the Premier League side. And although the Italians eventually captured the Brazilian midfielder, the swap didn’t materialise and McKennie stayed put.

More recently, McKennie was reported to be a transfer target for Fiorentina and Everton and he was excluded from the Juventus squad for pre-season as he entered the final year of his contract with the 36-time Serie A champions.

But suddenly, as the new campaign began, McKennie was ushered back into the fold. Although he didn’t appear in the game, he was named among the substitutes for Juve’s season-opening 3-0 victory over Como and now reports in Italy claim the American is set to sign a new contract.

Tanner Tessmann

Another player who seemed certain to make a high-profile switch this summer, Tanner Tessmann was linked with a move to Inter Milan for months.

The Serie A champions reached an agreement with Tessmann’s club, Venezia, to sign the highly rated 22-year-old midfielder and then immediately loan him back to the recently promoted club.

But Tessmann and Inter couldn’t find common ground in negotiations over personal terms and the Nerazzurri walked away from the deal.

Tessmann, who has two caps for the USMNT, joined Venezia from FC Dallas in 2021. Likened to former Lazio star Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, the Alabama-born star impressed in Italy’s second tier for his physicality in the middle third, energy in his box-to-box role and, especially after a career-best return of seven strikes last term, eye for goal.

A key part of Venezia’s promotion-clinching campaign last season, it now looks increasingly likely that Tessmann will represent the Venetian side in Serie A this term before leaving as a free agent next summer.

🚨 DON’T MISS 👉 Seven of the best MLS signings from final week of the transfer window: Premier League veteran, Bundesliga legend… 🚨

Gianluca Busio

And Tessmann is not the only highly regarded American midfielder Venezia could lose for free in less than 12 months’ time. Gianluca Busio, who has 13 senior caps for the USA, also joined the Italian side from MLS in 2021, arriving from Sporting Kansas City, and he too is now in the final year of his contract.

The 22-year-old produced a stellar campaign for Venezia last term. Previously considered a deep-lying midfielder likened to Bayern Munich’s Joshua Kimmich, the North Carolina native was unleashed as an attacking threat in the 2023-24 season, scoring seven goals and providing five assists to power Venezia’s push for promotion.

It remains possible that Venezia will look to sell Busio before the transfer window closes, rather than lose him for free next summer, with Parma and Verona reportedly interested in the American playmaker.

Walker Zimmerman

Now in his 12th MLS season, USMNT veteran Walker Zimmerman has endured an injury-hit campaign so far in 2024.

But the 31-year-old has been a top performer for Nashville SC when fit and was one of the overage selections in the US Olympic squad that reached the knockout rounds at the Paris Games this summer.

The 6ft 3ins centre-back joined Nashville from Los Angeles FC in 2020 when the Tennessee club were an expansion side beginning their first MLS season. And Zimmerman instantly wrote himself into the team’s history, scoring their first-ever MLS goal. The three-year contract extension he signed in 2022 made him the club’s highest earner.

Now, though, with that deal set to expire in 2025, Zimmerman’s storied association with Nashville might be approaching an end.

Lennard Maloney

Berlin-born USMNT international Lennard Maloney has been a key figure in the miraculous rise of Bundesliga minnows Heidenheim since joining the club from Borussia Dortmund in 2022.

In his first season with the side from Baden-Wurttemberg, the two-cap United States defensive midfielder helped them win promotion to Germany’s top tier. And last season, Maloney’s presence at the heart of the Heidenheim midfield helped Frank Schmidt’s men record an incredible eighth-place finish.

Now Maloney – who described himself in an interview with The Athletic earlier this year as “the one who does the dirty work” – is in the final 12 months of the three-year deal he penned upon signing for Heidenheim. Another impressive Bundesliga campaign will surely generate significant big-club interest in the 24-year-old.

Honourable mentions

Duane Holmes

A veteran of the English second tier, diminutive American midfielder Duane Holmes – who was capped twice for the USMNT back in 2019 – signed a two-year deal with Preston North End last summer. Now into the final season of his contract at Deepdale, the former Scunthorpe, Derby and Huddersfield man is set to be available as a free agent next year.

Lynden Gooch

After more than a decade with Sunderland, flying Californian full-back Lynden Gooch left the Stadium of Light last summer to join Stoke City. The 28-year-old has not appeared for the USMNT since 2018, but he remains an impactful player at the Championship level and is set to be available on a free next summer.

MLS youngsters

Technically speaking, there are a handful of burgeoning young MLS stars – as well as veterans such as former Chelsea defender Matt Miazga and Vancouver striker Brian White – whose contracts are set to expire in 2025.

A list headlined by the likes of FC Dallas’ prolific US international striker Jesus Ferreira, Inter Miami’s Benjamin Cremaschi and Philadelphia Union’s Jack McGlynn, in each case the MLS clubs these players are contracted to hold a unilateral option to extend their contracts beyond the end of the 2025 season.

READ NEXT : Who will be the next MLS record sale? Five candidates to topple Thiago Almada’s $30m record