American Players Abroad

I will admit it — I tend to get so caught up in the Christian Pulisic and Gio Reyna hype-train that I sometimes overlook the other talented members on the USMNT. Well, New Zealand-born American winger Tyler Boyd just gave me the antidote with a magnificent goal for Besiktas. I will be googling “Tyler Boyd goal vs Trabzonspor” for some time to come.

Sit back, relax and watch an American give one of Turkey’s biggest clubs something to cheer about in its season opener.

Ahead of opening its Serie A campaign next weekend, Juventus played a friendly against third division side Novara at the club’s training center on Sunday morning. As the first friendly of preseason, the match served as a debut for 22-year-old American Weston McKennie following his year-long loan to the club from Schalke.

Reggie Cannon completed a $3 million transfer from FC Dallas to Boavista in Portugal on Wednesday. The 22-year-old USMNT fullback participated in his first Boavista training session on Thursday. He made his debut for the Porto-based club in a friendly on Saturday. 

Cannon scored 21 minutes into his debut. Not a bad week.

Jogo de preparação 

BARCELONA — Barcelona beat second division Gimnastic de Tarragona 3-1 in a preseason friendly on Saturday, with Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele each making encouraging returns by scoring in Ronald Koeman's first game in charge.

Lionel Messi wore the captain's armband in his first match since he opted to abandon his plans to leave Barca, although Luis Suarez and Arturo Vidal were left out of the squad as the club is still trying to offload both players.

FC Dallas announced the Reggie Cannon transfer to Portugal's Boavista FC on Wednesday. The transfer fee for the 22-year-old USMNT defender was a reported $3 million.

"This club has given me so many amazing memories," said Cannon in a statement. "I'm really excited for this opportunity."

"FC Dallas fans, you guys have always been there for me."

To our fans, a final goodbye from Reggie. pic.twitter.com/dz0MlWR2EX

On Wednesday it was reported that Christian Pulisic will have the honor of donning the No. 10 jersey for Chelsea next season. Pulisic will trade in his No. 22 jersey and fill the shirt of Willian, who joined Arsenal earlier this summer. Ironically enough, Willian wore the No. 22 for six seasons until he was honored with the iconic number in his final season.

Sam Mewis made her debut in the FA Women’s Super League, helping the Citizens to a 2-0 win over newly promoted Aston Villa on Saturday at Villa Park. The USWNT midfielder nearly scored 15 seconds into her debut and played the full 90 minutes in the first FA WSL match of the season.

Aron Jóhannsson kept up his good form in the Allsvenskan with a brace in Hammarby's 3-3 draw against Kalmar on Sunday.

After a long run of injuries stretching back several seasons, the USMNT forward has gotten consistent playing time in Sweden over the last couple of months and has reaped the benefits. Since the beginning of the 2014-15 season, Jóhannsson has missed over 100 games due to injury. Since late July, though, he has featured in every game for seventh-place Hammarby and scored four goals in the club's last six games. 

Weston McKennie, a 22-year-old midfielder from Little Elm, Texas, has become the first American to join Juventus, completing a loan deal from Schalke with a club option to make the move permanent. Juventus announced the deal on Saturday, confirming earlier reports after McKennie had flown to Turin for a medical.