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He is the new kid on the block. Another American who used the Bundesliga as his right of way and could now be heading to these shores with Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag among his fans.
Like Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams and Christian Pulisic before him, Taylor Booth always dreamed of making it big in Europe.
Spotted in the US by Bundesliga scouts, he was invited to try out for Bayern Munich when he was 17 years old. He helped get an Italian passport, courtesy of his father Chad’s estate, but Booth’s path to the top has been challenged by him.
While he learned his trade under Julian Nagelsmann and trained alongside luminaries like Robert Lewandowski, the young midfielder’s path into the first team was never going to be easy, navigating beyond Bayern’s stars.
So last year, Booth took the bold step of leaving. Bayern made him multiple offers to extend his contract, and ultimately he was not happy that he chose to turn down those advances in favor of signing a pre-contract with FC Utrecht in the Netherlands.
American Taylor Booth is attracting interest after improving his game with FC Utrecht
Erik ten Hag is believed to be monitoring Booth’s progress and could take him to Man United.
Burnley, in the Premier League at the time, and Portuguese clubs had previously shown interest, however he was informed that the Dutch league was a better platform to develop his technical skills.
Utrecht has never been relegated from the Dutch Eredivisie and is where United manager Ten Hag played and later coached. In fact, Ten Hag still has strong ties to the club, so he is well informed about Booth’s capabilities and is believed to be actively monitoring his progress with the impressive 21-year-old thus far.
In this, his first full season, Booth has already established himself as a crowd favorite with just 16 appearances, scoring twice and assisting three times. He was named Eredivisie player of the month for November, has been named to the Eredivisie Team of the Week multiple times and now the USA U19 international is on pace to earn his first cap for the United States, although Italy could still claim it.
When asked where his national team loyalties lie, Booth, who was called up to a US senior national team camp in December 2021, laughed: “America or Italy? It’s hard to say categorically right now because I’ve never been put in a situation where I’ve had to choose. If Italy were to offer me an international call-up, obviously I would have to seriously think about it, especially if I wasn’t on the US radar yet. But it’s early and I don’t want to get ahead of myself. Right now, all I want to do is the best I can for Utrecht, which has given me this opportunity to launch my senior professional career. If I do well for my club, my international career will take care of itself.’
Last week, he was outstanding as Utrecht came from behind to draw 5-5 with the title trailing AZ Alkmaar.
It prompted former Dutch star Ronald de Boer to tweet: ‘Taylor Booth on a roll. I am enjoying this player.
English scouts have noted the 21-year-old’s good technique and energetic, attacking performances in midfield and his eye for both creating and scoring goals.
Talent is in your genes. Her mother Kelli and his father Chad, an Arsenal fan, were college footballers, while his brother Zach, also a US youth international, is currently on the books for Leicester City. However, his determination is more deeply seated. As a baby, Booth had a torticollis, or “drop neck,” and needed intensive physical therapy to make sure he could breathe and grow properly.
Booth was previously part of the youth setup at Bayern Munich but left to continue his career.
“It was really bad,” Kelli, her mother, recalled. “He went to physical therapy when he was a baby and he was constantly screaming. Sometimes the condition heals on its own, but it was so bad that she had to go to therapy. This child had to receive therapy for the first five months of his life, 24 hours a day, and he was a crybaby who did not like to have his neck stretched.
“She cried so much that I gave away all her baby clothes and I was never going to have another child again.
“I remember saying, ‘I hope he’s healthy.'” Kelli told the Deseret News. “So he went from needing physical therapy as a baby to being on the US national teams and he thinks that’s normal. What he doesn’t realize is that there was a moment when I thought, I hope his lungs work and his brain works.
Booth does not waste effort now, however, as he continues to create the kind of interest that saw his most illustrious fellow Americans move on to the Premier League and with a national call-up to follow.
Booth’s pace, power and technique could mean he is suited to the English, Spanish or Italian leagues.
His skill set is interesting – pace, power and technique that could make him not only a standout player in the English Premier League, but also in more technical and tactical leagues like La Liga and Serie A.
Come summer, it will come as no surprise that English clubs find themselves competing with the best clubs in Spain and Italy in the race for Booth’s signature.
I’m just enjoying it. I am playing every week at a good level and I want to make the most of every moment”, says Booth.
“I’m flattered that the US or Italian teams think of me or the clubs in the Premier League, La Liga or Serie A. Ever since I was a little boy playing football in the basement of our house in Eden, I’ve always I’ve said you can’t dream big enough.