Report: Zack Steffen contemplating leaving Manchester City in summer
The American goalkeeper needs more minutes to secure a starting role with the United States men’s national team in the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Wembley Stadium has become a nightmare for American goalkeeper Zack Steffen, who has now made three consecutive mistakes with Manchester City. Steffen started the FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool on Saturday and Sadio Mané caught the 27-year-old sleeping.
The City goalkeeper was not aware of his surroundings and Mané slid in to take the ball away from him and find the back of the net. The gaffe left team Pep Guardiola’s team 2-0 down to Liverpool and Steffen played a huge role in the defeat.
Steffen’s mistakes at Wembley
This is not the first time that the USMNT goalkeeper has made a huge mistake in big games at Wembley stadium and that is why he serves as the second option behind Ederson. Steffen gave up the match-winning penalty to Leicester City back in August in the Community Shield.
Before that, Steffen was caught in no-man’s land and made a crucial error in the FA Cup semi-final that Manchester City lost 1-0 to Chelsea. Three consecutive mistakes that have cost the Citizens three crucial defeats and it could be argued that it is due to his lack of minutes since arriving in the Premier League in 2019.
According to multiple reports, Steffen is ready to leave the Etihad Stadium in the summer in search of more minutes, with the World Cup right around the corner. The American goalkeeper has only made nine appearances this season and since City are out of the FA Cup, Steffen could only see minutes if Ederson suffers an injury.
Steffen’s latest mistake and the lack of minutes could make the head coach of the USMNT, Gregg Berhalter, start looking for another option to start in goal in Qatar. Steffen needs to make a change immediately in the summer if he wants to remain the number one keeper for Berhalter.