Deal agreed: Pep Guardiola secures first summer signing, Man City swoop breaks two records

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Man City have started their transfer business for next summer early as Columbus Crew SC have confirmed a deal has been agreed for them to sign Zack Steffen.

The 23-year-old goalkeeper has seemingly been targeted to offer stiff competition for Ederson between the posts at the Etihad, with the reigning Premier League champions arguably light in that department.

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Claudio Bravo is currently sidelined until March with a serious knee injury, leaving Daniel Grimshaw and Arijanet Muric as the only other two shot-stoppers in the senior squad.

With City competing at the highest level across multiple competitions, that is seemingly too big a risk to take moving forward, and so the swoop for Steffen makes sense.

According to Columbus on their club site, a deal has been agreed between the two sides for Steffen to leave next July, while it’s suggested that not only does the transfer fee set a new record for the MLS outfit in terms of being the biggest sale in their history, it’s added Steffen has become the most expensive goalkeeper in MLS history too.

With that in mind, they’ll be disappointed to lose him, but ultimately it sounds like a deal that makes sense for them too financially, in order to go out and acquire a capable replacement.

As for City and Pep Guardiola, it’s an important addition to the squad, and given the Spanish tactician’s desire to have a ball-playing goalkeeper capable of starting moves from the back, it would come as no surprise if Steffen has been extensively scouted to ensure that he meets the necessary criteria.

For now though, he’ll enjoy his final seven months with Columbus before embarking on his new challenge with Man City.

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