Tag: Utrecht

Utrecht puts €12m price tag on USMNT midfielder Booth

The 21-year-old looks set to leave the Dutch club after just one season

Taylor Booth is likely to leave Utrecht this summer, but he won’t come cheaply.

The Dutch club’s technical director Jordy Zuidam said in an interview with ESPN that he is looking for €12 million in any deal for the 21-year-old American.

“I know there is a lot of interest from players like Booth and [Anastasios] Douvikas,” Zuidam said.

“If we want to keep the club healthy, we have to make transfers. We aim to sell for around €12 million. We should do that again next year. Then those are guys who represent a value. You also try to keep boys, but you have to be realistic and that will show in the coming period.”

An eight-figure sale would represent a tidy piece of business for Utrecht, which signed Booth on a free transfer from Bayern Munich only last summer.

Booth had very little first-team experience under his belt when he moved to the Eredivisie, but he quickly proved to be one of Utrecht’s most important creative players.

In March, De Telegraaf said that Ajax and PSV are keen on bringing Booth in this summer. There has also been reported interest from Spain and England.

Booth earned his first two U.S. national team caps in March, coming off the bench the team’s Nations League games against Grenada and El Salvador.

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Taylor Booth’s time has arrived

The 21-year-old looks destined for a major transfer this summer

Taylor Booth’s rapid rise was solidified this week by a pair of reports from two major Dutch publications.

According to VI: “The chance that Taylor Booth will still play for FC Utrecht after this summer is small,” with top Dutch clubs as well as teams from Spain and England interested in the 21-year-old American.

The report added that Utrecht will expect to break its record for an outbound transfer, which is currently €8.4 million.

Meanwhile, De Telegraaf said that Ajax and PSV are keen on bringing Booth in this summer.

For a player who had very little first-team minutes before this season, Booth’s rise has come as somewhat of a surprise. But watching his combination of skill, confidence and vision, you’d be forgiven for thinking the midfielder had years of experience under his belt.

The Utah native came up through Bayern Munich’s academy but only managed one first-team appearance in his time with the German giants. His other senior minutes came in a loan at Austrian side St. Pölten two seasons ago.

After joining Utrecht last summer on a free transfer from Bayern, Booth initially began this season rotating between the club’s first team and reserve side.

By November, though, Booth was not only an every-game starter for Utrecht, he was even named the Eredivisie player of the month.

Now, Booth’s U.S. national team debut seems a matter of when, not if. VI says he is on the USMNT’s provisional roster for CONCACAF Nations League matches later this month.

If Booth is called in, the U.S. would be wise to get him on the pitch at some point in those two games to cap-tie him — he does, after all, hold an Italian passport, too.

Booth being stuck in an international tug-of-war between the U.S. and Italy may seem a little far fetched, but if his current trajectory continues then it may not be the craziest thing imaginable.

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