“Playing for Manchester City is still surreal” - Zack Steffen

American goalkeeper

Zack Steffen

thought his agent “was joking” when

showed interest in a contract, with the 26-year-old still finding it all “very surreal”.

The United States international joined the

giants in 2019 and was aware that he would be a backup behind Ederson. He was first sent away on a loan spell to Bundesliga side Fortuna Dusseldorf.

Steffen told

about his move:

"It’s definitely surreal. There have been some times where I’ve had to pinch myself and be like, wow, this is actually reality. 

"But when I first heard that Man City were interested in me, yeah, that was surreal and I thought my agent was joking!

"When I got over here and signed and checked everything out, that was insane. 

"When I got here for pre-season, got in the Man City locker room and met everyone and saw what their daily routines are and their habits - very surreal."

Joining City has presented Steffen with a relationship with one of the most decorated coaches in the world

Pep Guardiola

. He is pleased with the opportunity to work under the 50-year-old.

About playing for the fiery Catalan, he added:

"Yeah, I mean I was nervous. 

"At first it was kind of intense, just because of the stage and the pedestal that we put him on, but he’s a good guy, very passionate about his players and very, very passionate about the sport.

"He’s a relentless winner. A perfectionist. Always thinking about tactics, about how we can break teams down. He hates when other teams have the ball."

Steffen has been Guardiola’s second option this season, with Ederson being number one. The American goalkeeper, however, made 10 appearances. He sealed a clean sheet in City’s 1-0 victory over Tottenham in the Carabao Cup final.

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