Matt Turner appears to be on his way to joining Zack Steffen in the Premier League.
U.S. men's national team goalkeeper Matt Turner will reportedly join Arsenal in the summer, after the Premier League club and the New England Revolution agreed to terms on a transfer, according to ESPN.
Turner, who is in line to start for the U.S. men's national team during the current World Cup qualifying window as Zack Steffen battles back tightness, would remain with the Revolution through the first half of the MLS season per the parameters of the deal before heading to England in July. Arsenal will reportedly pay $6 million in an initial fee for the 27-year-old, with the potential for it to rise to $10 million based on add-ons. The Revs will reportedly maintain a 10% sell-on fee if Turner is to be sold by Arsenal.
The move would mark another landmark step in what's been a storybook rise for the goalkeeper, who was undrafted out of Fairfield University and was first given a chance in New England under former U.S. goalkeeper Brad Friedel. He cemented his rise with an MLS Goalkeeper of the Year award in 2021 under Bruce Arena, who told a local Boston radio station Thursday that "the likelihood of [a transfer] happening is pretty strong."
Turner started the U.S.'s first five World Cup qualifiers before backing up Steffen, whom he'll join in the Premier League. They both won't be expected to be regular starters on their clubs, with Aaron Ramsdale emerging as Arsenal's No. 1 (German Bernd Leno has been linked with a move away from the Emirates), and Ederson having a strong grip on the starting job at Man City. Playing the occasional cup game and training in the Premier League environment hasn't stopped Steffen from getting his chances with the U.S., and with it being a World Cup year, Turner will hope that the same remains the case for him.
In addition to his role in qualifying, Turner helped lead the U.S. to the Concacaf Gold Cup title, winning Golden Glove honors as the best goalkeeper in the competition. He recorded his ninth clean sheet of 2021 in a 1–0 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina last month—a single-year U.S. men's record—and addressed the topic of going abroad after the match.
"I always want to be able to challenge myself at the highest level I possibly can," Turner said. "Right now, it's not so easy, given COVID and the way the markets have been trending the last few seasons. It's been tough for goalkeepers to get moves. So I understand, I'm 27 and it's something that I really want to do and really want to accomplish. At the same time, going into a World Cup year, you have to play smart. Going overseas and getting into a situation where maybe I'm not playing, or maybe I don't adapt well to being in a foreign country before a World Cup might be challenging. There's a lot of things I can take from [the U.S.] and apply with the Revolution for the rest of 2022, and then going into a World Cup, after a World Cup, we can revisit. But next 12 months, next four months, next whatever, if it make sense I would love to."
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