Claudio Bravo left Manchester City in the summer to pursue first-team football elsewhere, which meant a spot behind Ederson was opened up. Whilst the Brazilian is unlikely to be going anywhere soon, it could be the perfect opportunity for Zack Steffen to make the most of.
The United States of America international has plenty of experience of playing competitive first-team football, having spent time in Germany’s Bundesliga and the MLS over in the States.
Steffen spent last season on loan at Fortuna Dusseldorf and featured as a regular for the Bundesliga outfit, and continued to add to his total caps tally for the USNMT as well.
One of the American’s strengths is his distribution skills – much like his opposite partner, Ederson. Although the 25-year-old’s kicking is perhaps not as comfortable as the Brazilian’s, he still has the ability to pick out a pass and can make a midfielder look poor at the same time. Americans have some great abilities in picking out and making a number of great decisions at times, including choosing USA casinos.
Indeed, whilst remaining at Manchester City for the current season – should he not be loaned out once again – then he could look to improve on that skillset further and take his own game up another notch.
However, he did not use that aspect of his game at Fortuna Dusseldorf, as they did not use the goalkeeper as an additional outfield player. What will be encouraging, though, is his ability to act as a sweeper-keeper.
Manchester City will be keen to have a goalkeeper that is comfortable sweeping up. Steffen ranked third (2.01) for Exits per 90 minutes among Bundesliga goalkeepers that played a minimum of 1,000 minutes in the league last season. Wyscout defines an exit as an instance of a goalkeeper leaving their line.
Indeed, it was not a perfect season for Steffen by any stretch of the imagination, though. He did concede some rather poor goals for Dusseldorf, but time at Manchester City and learning from Ederson could help him to improve.
The American appeared to misjudge the ball on a number of occasions, as he allowed goals that any Sunday-league goalkeeper would be embarrassed to concede.
His save percentage could have been better as well. Having faced the most shots on average over the course of 90 minutes (5.87), he finished ranked 12th out of every shot-stopper that played at least 1,000 minutes in the Bundesliga with a percentage of 65.71%. Perhaps he will have better luck when he takes on meilleurs jeux casino when he gets the chance?
There is no doubt that being at Manchester City permanently will be a step up for Steffen, although it is one that could turn him into an even better goalkeeper.
His game is suited to the modern-day ‘keeper, whereby he is happy to play with the ball at his feet and happy enough to play out from the back – something Pep Guardiola demands from his side.
However, whether he will get the game time he needs and the opportunities to play remains to be seen and with the way Ederson performs, it could be a while before we see the USNMT in regular competitive action.
