Zack Steffen’s advice for Cavan Sullivan, from a former Manchester City player to a future one
Steffen spent five years on Man City's books, but rarely played for the English Premier League giant. He hopes things go better for the Union's teen phenom, who will move there in 2027.
It was a coincidence that Downingtown native Zack Steffen came home on a night that another Philadelphia-area native was over at his former club.
Cavan Sullivan missed Saturday’s Union game against Steffen’s Colorado Rapids because he’s in the midst of a two-week training stint at Manchester City, the club the 15-year-old phenom will join after he turns 18 in 2027.
The trip is part of the deal that the Union and City made for Sullivan’s move, with a pre-set $5 million transfer fee. Neither team can officially talk about it, because English labor laws bar foreign athletes under 18 from working there professionally. But he’s allowed to spend a stint with City’s youth teams, and that’s what he’s doing.
In fact, Sullivan played for City’s under-21 team on Saturday in a friendly at Buxton FC of England’s sixth-tier National League North, and he scored a goal in the 3-2 loss. Buxton even congratulated him for the appearance and goal on the club’s social media accounts.
In 2019, City signed Steffen from the Columbus Crew for $7.5 million, with incentive clauses that could take the deal to $10 million. But he only played 21 games in five years on City’s books: two games in the Premier League, two in the Champions League, and the rest in cup competitions.
He spent the rest of the time either on the bench or on loan to other teams, first Germany’s Fortuna Düsseldorf then England’s Middlesbrough.
It was a cold lesson in the reality of moving to an English club that isn’t just famous for winning, but for piling up signings without caring how much they play.
Sullivan has immense raw talent and potential, as he has already shown for the Union’s first and reserve teams. City has also quietly fueled the hype, as the word got out about his training stint and a visit he made there last year.
But when the time comes for the big move, there’s no guarantee he’ll be treated any differently than anyone else the club has chewed up. Steffen saw that firsthand, and he has followed Sullivan’s rise from afar. So it was natural to ask what advice he’d offer.
“Stay patient and work hard, and wait for your time,” he said after his eight-save outing Saturday in a 3-1 loss to the Union.
Steffen knows that’s hard to ask of any 15-year-old, not just a soccer phenom.
“It is hard, man — especially this day and age with social media and everything, and we all think that things have got to come to us right now,” he said. “That’s just not how life works. So stay patient and keep working hard, and be ready.”
If that happens and Sullivan succeeds abroad, Steffen will be one of many people from Philadelphia and beyond who will cheer him on.