The current crop of talented but shaky US keepers resides in Matt Turner, Ethan Horvath, Zack Steffen, Gabriel Slonina, Drake Callender, and Roman Celentano. All with their upsides but also glaring issues at the club level.

Here is a breakdown of what is going on with each USMNT goalkeeper and what could be next for each one of them as once again the USMNT number 1 spot looks to be up for grabs in the long term.

Matt Turner

A great shot stopper but woeful with his feet, Turner simply was not good enough to play at Arsenal and at Nottingham Forest showed that he is Premier League level, but clearly was never his manager’s first choice. Recently signed it will be up to Turner to regain his starting spot, after a good World Cup and some good Europa League matches with Arsenal, Turner has to make it work in a club like Nottingham Forest, it will be difficult for another Premier League club to take a gamble on a keeper who was not able to leverage having been at Arsenal.

Ethan Horvath

Nottingham’s third choice, behind Turner, it is really shocking to see there were no takers for Horvath who showed he can come up HUGE in big moments, for the USMNT and for his old club Luton Town. With a rumored move to MLS, it will be gut punch for a goalkeeper who has the level to be in Europe to have to start over in MLS, but yet before Brad Friedel moved to Liverpool, he played a year with the Columbus Crew. Ethan needs to start playing, especially when at times he has looked better than Turner with Luton Town.

Gabriel Slonina

The most talented keeper in the pool, Gabriel Slonina is making saves and showcasing his skills for a pretty poor Eupen side in Belgium. Slonina should be the heir apparent, but will Gregg Berhalter integrate a keeper who has the best skill set of any keeper in the pool? That remains to be seen, the Summer Olympics could be Gaga’s coming out party. The long-term reality is that Slonina should become the USMNT’s number one.

Drake Callender

The advantage of playing with Lionel Messi is all eyes are on you, Drake Callender was one of the few players that international media salvaged from a dreadful Inter Miami side before and since Messi’s arrival. Drake Callender knows how to make big saves, but at times is prone to being exposed by an Inter Miami defense that is amateur to comical at times. A move to Europe would benefit Callender in the long run and it will come if in 2024 he has a similar season and better numbers.

Roman Celentano

Not getting his credit is FC Cincinnati’s Roman Celentano, who had a solid season in MLS in 2023. Roman Celentano has been one of MLS’ best goalkeepers and was second in shutouts this season. At 23, Celentano could make a move to Europe soon and break through on a national team goalkeeper pool where spots 2 and 3 are up for grabs.

Zack Steffen

Left off of the 2022 World Cup roster because of rumors he would not have handled being on the bench under Turner, Zack Steffen’s club career is in limbo, with no place at Manchester City after huge blunders in his limited matches, a solid season at Middlesbrough did nothing for his World Cup chances, and even if he found a new club, it would most likely take a solid season before he gets back on the USMNT.

Slonina transferred to Chelsea in 2022 but stayed with MLS side Chicago Fire to finish the season. After which he has been with Chelsea’s reserve team and has gotten rave reviews. On the USMNT front he received his only cap for the red, white, and blue in 2023.

Gabriel Slonina’s transfer was $10 million and while there is a lot of hopes the netminder will turn into one of the top keepers in the world, at the moment, he will have to hone his skills in the Belgian league.

Breakdown of KAS Eupen

KAS Eupen finished 15th out of 18 in the Belgium Pro League last season, the team is coached by Florian Kohfeldt, who coached Wolfsburg in Germany. The goalkeeping ranks at the club are a trio of internationals, Lennart Moser (Germany), Abdul Manaf Nurudeen (Ghana), and Garissone Innocent (Haiti).

For Slonina it is an opportunity to gain first team European experience, and hopefully begin to cement himself for consideration in Chelsea’s first team squad and not fall victim to the eternal carousel of players owned by Chelsea but loaned all over the world.

On Tuesday, the Premier League club announced the signing ofGabriel Slonina from MLS outfit Chicago Fire. The 18-year-old goalkeepersigned a six-year contract with the Blues but will stay on loan in Chicagofor the remainder of the 2022 season.

Slonina’s career has been on the rise very quickly. His Chelsea transfer comes nearly a year after he made his professional debut, becoming the youngest goalkeeper to start an MLS game at only 17 years and 81 days.

Christian Pulisic to be joined by Gabriel Slonina at Chelsea

The teenager has been one of the few bright spots for the Fire in a rather troubling season, in which they stand 8th in the East with 27 points. By 2022, the 18-year-old hadalready established himself in the starting lineup after keeping four clean sheets in 11 games last year.

Having played every single minute of this season so far, Slonina shows off 10 shutouts in 23 appearances. His breakthrough had previously caught the eye of other European giants, with Real Madrid among many teams mentioned as possible suitors.

Slonina, who was part of the youth national team program for most of his career,received his firstcall-up to the United States Men’s National Soccer Teamin December 2021, sitting on the bench for a friendly against Bosnia and Herzegovina. His move to the Premier League suggests the USA will have a dependable goalkeeper in the years to come.

Slonina made his professional debut in 2021 keeping an impressive 4 clean sheets in 11 games for the 18-year-old. This season Slonina has been the shining light on an otherwise dismal Fire side that sit bottom of the MLS standings.

Slonina has played 20 games and has 8 shutouts with 42 saves. The Fire goalkeeper had interest from Real Madrid, but it seems like the Spanish giants did not reach the desired transfer fee. Here are the terms of Slonina’s transfer to Chelsea.

Gabriel Slonina to Chelsea terms

According to Fabrizio Romano the terms of the transfer are as follows: Chelsea would pay MLS/ Chicago Fire $10 million for Slonina’s services. Slonina’s agent has informed the Chicago Fire that the player and Chelsea have reached personnel terms and Chelsea will now send their formal bid.

It is reported that the Fire and Chelsea have already agreed verbally to the transfer, and it will make Slonina the latest American transferred to a major team in Europe. Nonetheless fans in MLS will still get a chance to see Slonina as he will be loaned back to the Fire but for how long remains to be seen.

Slonina had interest from Juventus, Real Madrid, Manchester United, and Bayern Munich, but in the end, Chelsea was willing to pay the desired $10 million transfer.