- Has no plans to return to City
- 35 appearances for Middlesbrough this year
- Dropped from USMNT World Cup side
WHAT HAPPENED? Steffen has only played sparingly for City since joining the club from the Columbus Crew in 2019. The American keeper spent his first year on loan at Fortuna Dusseldorf, and was City's No.2 behind Ederson last season, making nine appearances for Pep Guardiola's side.
The reigning Premier League champions sent him out on loan to Middlesborough for the duration of the 2022-23 campaign, and he has established himself in the No.1 spot for the Championship club. Steffen has now made it known that he wants a significant role at his next team - something City cannot offer him.
AND WHAT'S MORE: His lack of club playing time with City contributed to him losing his starting role with the USMNT to Matt Turner, though Turner himself is now in a part-time role at Arsenal.
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WHAT THEY SAID: "I don’t think I’ll go back. No, I want to be playing. Although I had a great time at City and I love those guys, and obviously an amazing club, I don’t really have any plans to go back," Steffen told the Philadelphia Inquirer.
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Steffen fell down the pecking order in the USMNT's set-up last year. Manager Gregg Berhalter handed Turner the starting job after nearly three years of trusting Steffen in goal, and left the City shot-stopper out of his 2022 World Cup squad altogether.
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IN THREE PHOTOS:
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Trevor RuszkowskiWHAT NEXT? Steffen will continue to be Middlesbrough's first-choice keeper as they fight for promotion to the Premier League. Michael Carrick's side are third in the Championship and face relegation-threatened Huddersfield next.
