Doubters were harsh on Kean at Juventus, claims McKennie

Moise Kean came in for harsh criticism at Juventus, so says Weston McKennie, who is unsurprised to see the striker thriving at Fiorentina.

Kean left Juve to join Fiorentina in the summer, and has since scored nine goals in 15 Serie A games for the Viola.

The 24-year-old, who has also had spells at Everton and Paris Saint-Germain in recent seasons, is Serie A’s third-highest scorer this season and is netting every 127 minutes on average.

And his former club-mate McKennie always thought Kean would prove his doubters wrong at Fiorentina, who are flying high in fourth place in Serie A.

“No, I’m not surprised,” McKennie said of Kean in an interview with CBS, as quoted by IlBianconero.

“I spoke to him on the phone before the last Coppa Italia match.

“He has all the right credentials, that is, he’s a beast, he has strength, he has speed, he has quality, he has the ability to do everything.”

McKennie also feels Kean was not handed enough chances to show his quality at Juve, where he was a bit-part player under Massimiliano Allegri.

McKennie added: “He just needed a coach or someone who believed in him and gave him confidence and minutes in the game and brought out that side of him. I’m not surprised at all that he’s having this kind of season. I told him to stay on this track because he deserves it.

“When he was here there were a lot of people who doubted him and a lot of people against him. It was a bit unfair.

“Just because he’s a striker and he has to score goals, but it’s difficult to do that when you come on in the last 10 minutes of every game.”

Juve, whose players came under criticism from their fans following a 2-2 draw with Venezia on Sunday, face Cagliari in the Coppa Italia round of 16 on Tuesday.