Hitchcock on Turner: “He’s going to go there and put Ramsdale under a lot of pressure very quickly. He’s going to give the manager a lot to think about.”
Matt Turner will challenge Aaron Ramsdale for the starting spot at Arsenal, according to New England Revolution goalkeeping coach Kevin Hitchcock.
On Thursday’s episode of the State of the Union Podcast, Turner told Alexi Lalas that his official release date is Jun. 24. This means the last game he’ll be available to play for the Revs is on Jun. 19 when Minnesota United come to Gillette Stadium.
Matt Turner tells @AlexiLalas that his official release is June 24. He says he’ll be available to play for the #NERevs on June 19 when Minnesota comes to Gillette. Turner’s flight to England is booked for after that game.
— Seth (@SethMan31) May 19, 2022
Turner will then depart for England to suit up for the team he’s been a fan of since childhood. The 27-year-old is looking forward to pushing to become the starter.
“I have all to fight for in preseason as I understand it,” Turner told Lalas. “I know that Aaron has had a great season for Arsenal and he’s considered their number one and I’ll probably come in considered the number two, but I’ve been considered a lot worse than a number two in my career.”
Turner explained that he’s going to “show up ready to work” with the goal of becoming Arsenal’s backstop. Hitchcock, who has worked with Turner since Apr. 2019, believes that he can do it.
“The world’s his oyster,” Hitchcock told The Bent Musket. “He’s got all the tools. I’ve been telling people for two years this boy is good enough to play in the Premier League.”
Hitchcock knows what it takes to play in the Premier League, having accumulated 96 appearances for Chelsea between 1988 and 2001. He has also served as the goalkeeping coach for various teams after he retired.
Hitchcock joked that Turner has “chosen the wrong club” before saying he’s excited to see what he does overseas.
“He’s going to go there and put Ramsdale under a lot of pressure very quickly,” Hitchcock said. “He’s going to give the manager a lot to think about.”
Turner will also give Gregg Berhalter, the coach of the United States Men’s National Team, something to think about. Turner is competing with Zack Steffen to be Berhalter’s first choice during the World Cup in Qatar.
Hitchcock noted that everyone has an opinion on the showdown between Turner and Steffen before explaining that the only opinion that matters is Berhalter’s. If Turner is given the nod, Hitchcock is confident that he’ll perform well.
“I don’t think that Matt will let anybody down, whether it’s Arsenal or whether it’s the USA,” Hitchcock said.
For now, Turner is serving as the number one for the Revolution while mentoring promising young goalkeepers Djordje Petrovic and Jacob Jackson.
“Matt’s taken on the senior goalkeeping role,” Hitchcock remarked. “He’s implementing what I’m doing and what I’m saying and it’s nice to hear it from another voice.”