Life is good for New England Revolution goalkeeper Matt Turner at the moment.
The 27-year-old backstop is in Los Angeles for Wednesday's 2021 MLS All-Star Game presented by Target (9 pm ET | FS1, Univision, TSN, TVA Sports), plus has broken through with the US men's national team, playing every minute as the Yanks took home this summer's Concacaf Gold Cup title. All of that has transpired while the Revs lead the Supporters' Shield standings and are pulling away from their Eastern Conference counterparts.
Turner stopped by the Extratime Live set with co-hosts Andrew Wiebe and David Gass in Los Angeles, hitting a variety of topics, including the Revs' status as Shield frontrunners and how much weight that trophy would carry within the group.
"We’re focused right now on winning the Supporters’ Shield. I’d say that first," Turner said. "I know it’s a less sexy trophy. But when you’re in a position to win a trophy and get into continental football, you’ve got to go for it. You really have to go for it. That’s something we’ve taken into the approach in training every single day, in games. A guy like Andrew Farrell, he can see that this team is different, it’s built different than the teams of the past and he’s holding guys to certain expectations."
Teammate Tajon Buchanan is the Revs player surrounded by overseas transfer rumors at the moment, and Turner gave a lengthy answer when asked about the finer points of the Canadian international's development. But it's something that's also been a topic of discussion surrounding Turner.
Does he see an overseas move as part of his future? Asked that very question, Turner said he's certainly thought about it, but emphasized the importance of taking a measured approach to ensure any move would be the right one.
"I’m in a really great situation in New England right now," he said. "Throwing in a curveball into the equation, I don’t know if that necessarily best suits me for this moment in time. I’m definitely highly motivated to get to that next level, to get to Europe and go challenge myself overseas.
"But I understand that it’s not always in my control and there’s things that I can’t force. I don’t want to force things and cause a big fuss and make a move happen and then it be the wrong move for me, for my family. I understand in professional sports it’s not always going to be perfect. But just taking my time and continuing to get better. I know there’s a lot of things that I have to work on to get better and playing week-in, week-out in every single game in New England has really helped me to fast-track my development."
