ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Matt Turner has started one club match in eight months, not what he was hoping for when he left Major League Soccer for the Premier League in the summer of 2022.
“Obviously in a perfect world at some point I’m going to get my break and I’m going to get a run of games and I’m going to find that consistency and I’m going to find that manager that trusts me over everybody else no matter what and I’ll get that rhythm again,” the American goalkeeper said ahead of a CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal first leg at Jamaica on Thursday. “And so I’m just going to keep plugging away, keep controlling what I can control right now.”
Turner was the American starter at the 2022 World Cup and this year's Copa America, and he was in goal for Mauricio Pochettino's first two matches as the American team's coach, a 2-0 win over Panama and a 2-0 loss at Mexico in friendlies last month.
Now 30, he left the New England Revolution for Arsenal and was limited to seven matches in his first season with the Gunners: five in the Europa League and two in the FA Cup.
He was loaned to Nottingham Forest for 2023-24 and became the starter, then lost the No. 1 spot after allowing soft goals against Tottenham, Manchester United and Arsenal. He was loaned this season to Crystal Palace, where he is a backup to Dean Henderson. Turner's Palace debut in a 2-1 win at Aston Villa in the League Cup on Oct. 30 was his first club match since Feb. 28.
“For me that was a big moment because Oliver Glasner made it very clear to me and to my team that it wasn’t a handout,” Turner said Tuesday, referring to Palace's manager. “It was something that’s well earned and that gave me a lot of confidence for how I’ve been training, how I have been preparing, how I’ve been approaching every single day."
During his first camp as U.S. coach last month, Pochettino said coaches worry when people in his pool don't get regular playing time and said players need to be in club situations where they see regular action.
“I found myself in these positions quite a few times now where I’m not consistently playing, but not to hype myself up too much — but I give a lot of credit to myself for the approach that I can bring every day,” Turner said. "My wife understands that it’s more than just being a backup goalkeeper. It’s about preparing every single game like I’m playing the same way and taking that same approach no matter what and because I want to be ready when my number is called upon.”
Turner isn't ready to return to MLS.
“I’m not quite there yet,” he said. “I know I can play at the level that I’m currently at. It’s just about finding that consistency, that opportunity where I feel comfortable.”
Zack Steffen, bypassed for the World Cup roster by coach Gregg Berhalter after starting six World Cup qualifiers. returned to MLS this year and started 33 of 34 regular-season league matches for Colorado after playing in just two Premier League games over 4 1/2 years while under contract to Manchester City.
Turner also lauded 40-year-old Atlanta goalkeeper Brad Guzan, who returned to MLS in 2017 after 8 1/2 seasons in England. Guzan overcame a torn Achilles tendon that sidelined him for most of the 2022 season and helped Atlanta eliminate Lionel Messi and Miami from the playoffs in the first round last weekend.
“A lot of people at his age, if they had the injury that he had, might call it a day,” Turner said. “It's great to see a pathway forward for a goalkeeper in his 40s because that’s always been my dream, to make it into my 40s and just keep plugging away.”
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