ZACK Steffen has admitted he would love to have re-signed for Middlesbrough this summer after enjoying an "awesome" year on loan last season - but says Boro's failure to win promotion all but ended his hopes of a Riverside return.
Steffen says his time on Teesside was the most enjoyable loan spell of his career, telling of his love for the "beautiful" area and hailing Michael Carrick for his impact after arriving as Boro's head coach.
The Manchester City keeper says "smart" Carrick has an instinctive awareness of what the players want and need and was hugely impressed by the Boro boss's man-management and his ability to get his tactical message across.
Steffen wanted to return to Boro in the summer but his earnings at Manchester City meant that was always unlikely after Carrick's side came up short in the play-offs. With a Boro move not on the cards, Steffen then decided to take the plunge and get surgery on a problematic knee injury.
Boro turned their transfer attention elsewhere and signed Seny Dieng, who has enjoyed an impressive start to life on Teesside. Steffen is now closing in on a return to action but it's not clear what the future holds for the keeper, who has a desire to play regularly rather than settle as a deputy at Manchester City. Regardless of what comes next for Steffen, he'll always have fond memories of his time at Boro.
"Middlesbrough was awesome," said Steffen, in a revealing chat on the #OnTheJudy Podcast.
"It was tough in the beginning on the field, but living in Yarm, in such beautiful countryside, it was peaceful and a much simpler life than living in the city. That's like where I'm from and what I'm used to.
"Carrick is awesome. He's smart. He's definitely a players' coach. He's so fresh from retiring, he remembers what being a player feels like. He handles the players and manages the players well.
"He'll have conversations with the players if they're not playing. He just gets it. He's very wise. He knows how to push players, how to teach tactics progressively and not just throw everything at you at once. He's just a very good guy."
Chris Wilder was the manager when Steffen joined in the summer of 2022 but Boro opted for a change in the dugout after a disappointing start to the season, and Carrick made an instant impact.
"He changed little things within the club that needed updating but not much really," said Steffen.
"He just came in and said 'guys, you play this sport because you love it and want to have fun, so go and have fun and believe in yourself and support one another'."
Asked if he wanted to make the loan permanent, Steffen said: "Yeah. I would like to have gone back this season but with my knee... if we'd been promoted I'd have maybe put the knee off until next summer but because we didn't go up I thought this was the best time to get the knee op and get it cleaned up and best time to have four months out."
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For all Steffen loved his loan spell at Boro, his time on Teesside included one of the toughest setbacks he's ever faced in his career when he was left out of the USA squad for the World Cup.
He says: "That was the first time in my life where I felt heartbroken. I was really, really hurt. It was really tough.
"I believe everything happens for a reason and right away I just said a prayer and tried to understand this is part of my journey. I just focused on growing and getting better and using it as motivation.
"Life goes on. I watched the World Cup. It was hard as hell, my mum didn't watch a game. It was tough but I love those guys and I was really happy for them.
"I would have gone into a dark place had it not been for the people around me. I usually keep all my feelings in, but this time I expressed my feelings and it helped me through it."
Watch the interview with Steffen in full HERE.
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