Zack Steffen moves to Middlesbrough on loan and yes, it sounds like he’s the starter

The 27-year-old has moved down to the Championship as he looks to secure regular playing time

Zack Steffen has made his move in the race to be the U.S. national team starter at the World Cup, joining Middlesbrough on a season-long loan from Manchester City.

Steffen joined City in 2019 from the Columbus Crew in a move worth a reported £6 million. After a loan to Fortuna Dusseldorf in Germany, Steffen served as the backup to Ederson for the past two seasons.

With regular playing time unlikely and a World Cup upcoming, Steffen has moved to the Championship side as he aims to secure a starting role for the first time since the 2019–20 season.

Will Steffen start at Boro?

It appears the Steffen has the inside track on Boro’s starting goalkeeper role. The club’s starter last season, Joe Lumley, has been sent on loan to Reading. Boro brought in Liam Roberts this offseason, but he appears unlikely to start right away after he played for fourth-tier Northampton Town last season.

TeessideLive, the regional website that covers the club referred to Steffen as “Boro’s new number one” while the club’s manager Chris Wilder also sounded like he’s ready to hand Steffen his starting role.

“I think it’s a big coup for us and so I’m delighted we’ve brought Zack in,” Wilder in Boro’s announcement of the move.

“We knew we had to improve the goalkeeping department. We brought in Liam Roberts and now we’re adding Zack who has just signed a four-and-a-half-year deal with Man City. Man City don’t hand out four-and-a-half-year contracts if they don’t think anything of them.

“Everyone knows his situation, he needed to play because of the World Cup. He had an agreement with Man City, but he could have easily stayed there and sat comfortably as their number two. He wanted to go out and he’s agreed to come here.”

Steffen is in a heated battle with Matt Turner for the USMNT starting role. Turner has just completed a move to Arsenal, where he figures to start the season as a backup to Aaron Ramsdale.

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