Five USMNT players who are set for big European club seasons in 2025-26

The summer break is over, if there ever was one. European club soccer returned last weekend with the 2025/26 Premier League, La Liga and Ligue 1 seasons kicking off. The Bundesliga and Serie A will have their big kick-off this week as the club game gets up and running across the continent.

With less than a year until the 2026 World Cup, there is more pressure than most seasons for US Men’s National Team members to perform. Here are five USMNT players set for a significant campaign in Europe.

Folarin Balogun (Monaco)

The discussion over who should start for the USMNT at the number nine spot is destined to run and run until the very moment the 2026 World Cup kicks off. However, there is a sense that Folarin Balogun and Ricardo Pepi are vying for the place in Mauricio Pochettino’s team and many would argue the former has the higher ceiling.

It wasn’t so long ago that Balogun joined Monaco for €40m after a 2022/23 season which saw him score 22 goals for Reims on loan from Arsenal. Now, though, he faces stiff competition for a starting spot at Monaco having missed much of the last two seasons through injury. Balogun needs a consistent campaign to continue his development.

Johnny Cardoso (Atletico Madrid)

It’s fair to say USMNT fans haven’t seen the best of Johnny Cardoso. The 23-year-old is renowned as one of the best defensive midfielders in La Liga, which earned him a €30m move to Atletico Madrid from Real Betis this summer. Diego Simeone is counting on the American to be his destroyer in the centre of the pitch.

Johnny isn’t the most comfortable when progressing the ball, but Atleti haven’t signed him to do this. A strong season under Simeone would surely have an impact on the 23-year-old’s USMNT prospects. Could Pochettino use Tyler Adams and Johnny at the base of his midfield against high-calibre opponents?

Sergino Dest (PSV)

After 13 months out through injury, Sergino Dest is finally back and he is already making an impact. The right back scored in PSV’s opening two games of the new season, highlighting the qualities USMNT supporters have missed in the time that the former Barcelona defender has been sidelined.

Malik Tillman, Johan Bakayoko, Noa Lang and Luuk de Jong all departed PSV over the summer. The Eredivisie side see Dest as someone who can step up to compensate for the loss of so much attacking talent. The 2025/26 season will surely see Dest reassert himself as the USA’s best right back.

Ricardo Pepi (PSV)

Last season was a breakout campaign for Pepi at PSV, as the striker scored 11 Eredivisie goals. However, the USMNT centre forward still found his route into Peter Bosz’s starting lineup blocked by de Jong. Since then, though, de Jong has joined Porto, meaning Pepi will surely have a run of games to establish himself as PSV’s first-choice striker.

Pepi has recently been linked with a move to the Premier League. Indeed, West Ham made a bid for the American in January while Liverpool are also believed to be admirers. However, PSV is a good place for Pepi to be at this stage of his development. A strong season could lead to a starting role at the World Cup.

Malik Tillman (Bayer Leverkusen)

This season will be a sink or swim moment for Tillman. The attacking midfielder was one of the best players in the Eredivisie last season and has now been signed by Bayer Leverkusen for €35m to replace Florian Wirtz. That Tillman is seen as a successor to one of the best playmakers in Europe says a lot about his potential.

Tillman was a key figure for the USMNT as they made a run to the final of the Gold Cup during the summer. There is an open spot in Pochettino’s team as the starting number 10 and Tillman might well be ahead of Diego Luna and Gio Reyna in the pecking order. He can confirm this for Leverkusen this season.