Matt Turner reveals his 'dream' to play in the Premier League
By Chris Smith
New England Revolution goalkeeper Matt Turner has revealed it is his "dream" to play in the English Premier League.
The 27-year-old walked an unconventional path to the top, playing college soccer until 2015 and going unselected in the 2016 SuperDraft before finally signing with the Revs.
But Turner has emerged as one of the best stoppers in MLS over the past couple of years and won this season's Goalkeeper of the Year award. He's also posing a serious threat to Zack Steffen's status as USMNT No.1, picking up 12 caps across the course of this year.
Steffen, of course, left the Columbus Crew for Manchester City in 2019, and Turner is hoping to follow a similar route from MLS to Europe.
"A hundred percent on the radar. [It is] something that I want to happen," Turner responded when asked by Yael Averbuch West about his European ambitions on 90min's Football Americana podcast.
"It's a tricky year for it, obviously with COVID it's been really hard. Teams aren't spending quite as freely. Typically, come summer months, the market for goalkeepers is very different. There's a lot of goalkeepers that come out on free transfers, one. And number two is there's a lot of capable second-string goalkeepers in the top five leagues around the world, that are looking for games, are looking for places where they can play and if clubs can offset their costs by bringing in a loan instead of buying a player, they're probably going to lean that. It's challenging."
Turner is also mindful of the fact that the 2022 World Cup in Qatar is less than a year away. Is it worth risking his place on Gregg Berhalter's roster given how much success he's enjoyed with the Revs?
"With the World Cup right around the corner, do you want to throw in a wrench into your playing situation? I'm not so sure right now," he added. "But in the winter, if something comes that we can't refuse, I've had some really great conversations with the Revolution organization and they'll support me and they'll be willing to at least listen to some offers.
"I don't have a dream club. However, it is my dream to play in the Premier League in England. Hopefully, that happens one day, but I'd be happy to play in any of the top five leagues for sure."
For now, Turner's attention remains on New England's MLS Cup Playoff campaign, with the Supporters' Shield winners hosting NYCFC in the Eastern Conference semi-finals on Tuesday.