Not many players are able to jump right into a starting lineup and play a key role for a club, but Auston Trusty is exceeding his early expectations in the English Football League Championship.
Trusty arrived at Birmingham City on loan from Arsenal this summer and since has become a first-team regular in John Eustace’s squad. The former Philadelphia Union and Colorado Rapids defender has made 17 appearances in all competitions for the Blues, totaling two goals and helping the club register five shutouts.
Trusty has fit right into Eustace’s 3-5-2 formation, adjusting to a busy schedule in England’s second-tier and standing up against several of the league’s top attackers. Veteran defender George Friend has not featured for Birmingham City since mid-August, but has raved about Trusty’s impressive adjustment to a new country, club, and league.
“I think Trusty has been incredible,” Friend said to BirminghamLive about Trusty’s season to date. “I don’t think in the whole time I have been in the Championship I have seen anyone better at coming from a league abroad and just taking to the Championship so easily.
“His first game was Luton away, which is arguably one of the hardest debuts in the league and since then he has just been brilliant. He has been excellent to watch and has taken it in his stride.”
Trusty has helped Birmingham City to a 5-5-6 record so far this season, with the club currently sitting in 15th place. After logging over 120 appearances in MLS, Trusty has continued his development abroad, fighting to improve as a defender and also get himself back into the mix with the U.S. men’s national team.
Up next for the Blues is a home date with second-place QPR on Friday before final first-half matches against Millwall, Stoke City, and Swansea City. Trusty will aim to lead the Blues into the top-half of the league table before a one month break due to the FIFA World Cup.
Trusty with another goal today. Hearing Arsenal are considering bringing him back early from his loan
If he stays all season at Birmingham, Trust is likely going to start the rest of the season.
Plus I don’t think Arteta uses a back three like Birmingham does
How much do you think he’ll play at Arsenal?
There are 21-24 year-old players who will challenge for the CB spots on the national team in 3 or 4 years. I don’t know their names, but they are out there, Trusty may be one of them,
M. Robinson (25), EPB (25), CCV (24), Trusty (24), Pines (24), McKenzie (23)
Maloney (23), Richards (22), Sands (22), Campbell (21),
Carrera (20), Tomkinson (20)…Che (18), Henry (18), Leone (18) are some of the top rated CB’s who’ve been part of the US youth system who could be in the running for 2026. Will all depend on how they develop over the next 2-3 years and what tactics/style the USMNT eventually adopts. Most are making good Progress, but some (Richards) have also had injury concerns.
Leone and Possibly Carrera we may have lost to Mexico, but there are some other Duel nationals that we could also pick-up if the cards fall just right.
Kik Pierie (22) & Bryan Okoh (19) are 2 others who could represent the USMNT if they filed switches. I doubt we’d convince Okoh to file, but Pierie is a possibility.
As someone below mentioned CB is usually a position that players often hit their prime a little later in life. None of our current CB’s have distinguished themselves or separated themselves from the Pack to the point they’ll truly be incumbents next cycle that will have to be dethroned. Which is why I feel the CB position is the most up for grabs spots in our Player Pool. Whoever the coach/manager is they must test out multiple combinations and find something better than what Gregg has given us over the last 2 years.
For anyone who has seen him play recently, how is his speed? For me, the biggest weakness right now for the USMNT is the fast CB to complement Zimmerman. That’s what we lost when M Robinson went down. Long used to be that, but just isn’t now. Richards has it, but looks like he isn’t going to be fit for Qatar. If Trusty has the wheels, it is desperation time for that position.
I’ve been paying attention to Trusty since ‘17 Concacaf U20 tourney. (Glad was his RCB pairing, when EPB was at CB, Tab played him @ LB). He’s versatile. Trusty isn’t a speed guy. He’s not faster than Reggie Cannon to give you a comparison. (Cannon has been used as a RCB in a back 3, since the ‘21 GC, while Trusty has experience w/ LCB in a back 3 w/ the Rapids). What he doesn’t have in speed, he makes up for in reading the game and being in good position to make a defensive play/stop. Disclaimer- I haven’t watched a Blues match so far. Don’t know what he’s added 2 his game just yet; I do know his skill set would translate in a tougher league. The ‘98 birth year is extremely talented, would’ve liked to see those players be the foundation this cycle. Don’t know if he makes the WC, happy to see him have great start to season!
I wasn’t even familiar with this young man, but he seems to be quietly making waves. A left-footed center back (a detail which you can’t even tell from his Wikipedia article) could be a valuable asset, especially given his growing reputation for being adaptable and cool-headed.
Could he even feature one day at Arsenal? It’s nice to dream … (-:
shit, Arsenal were already talking about bringing him back from the loan to be a part of the first team…we might just see that happen after the WC break!
I always liked this kid. I’m hoping he will develop and get 1st team minutes with Arsenal in the future. I loved watching he and McKenzie problem solve with Josef Martinez and Tito Villalba running at them when they were in Philly. Surprised McKenzie hasn’t taken over at Genk and move on. Both of these guys have high ceilings IMHO even if they are NOT USMNT quality just yet.
The good news for Trusty (and others) is that after the WC there should be nearly a complete overhaul of the Center Back position for the USMNT. Even if Gregg somehow gets a contract extension I see no possibility of Long ever featuring for the A-Squad again. CCV, EPB, & McKenzie have failed to solidify themselves as options (granted Gregg hasn’t given them may chances)…and with Richards can’t seem to stay healthy and Miles will have a difficult road to prove he’s back to where he was pre-injury (especially after the BS we’ve gone through over the last 10 months).
These facts open the door for anyone eligible to play CB to have opportunities to stake a claim for the 2026 cycle. Trusty should be in the top 4 names tried once the WC is over. He plays consistently in a competitive league and has been performing well for his club. He’s a true left CB who has decent (to good) physical attributes (size, speed, strength)…he’s a better distributor than Long or Zimmerman, and has equal positional awareness and IQ to EPB, CCV, and McKenzie.
If everything you just said is true and I think you’ve got it just about right, then if Gregg were a gambling man, he should start this kid next to Zimmerman vs. Wales.
Wales has a lot of a Championship feel to it so Trusty should be comfortable.
He’s just been highly praised for being quick to adapt to stressful situations. Let’s see if he can do it again.
Miles wasn’t the most skilled player in the world but he has a lot of balls and would run through a wall for you. He’s the guy I think keyed the USMNT’s victory in the Gold Cup vs. El Tri. The Gold Cup and El Tri were shit but if Trusty can approach Miles’ hair on fire attitude the USMNT would be a lot better off.
I don’t know about a “complete overhaul” of the CB position, especially considering most of the guys you mentioned are still relatively young for the position. CCV, EPB, McKenzie and Miles Robinson are all around the same age 24-25, which is still development age for CB’s, but more importantly what players are coming through the CB ranks that will keep them out? Trusty will absolutely be involved, we could maybe see Tomkinson from Norwich start to get some looks, but other than that the CB pool is what it is atm.
McKenzie was playing behind Jhon Lucemi. Genk sold Lucemi to Bologna for $8 million plus add ons. Mark has started 12 games in a row since the Lucemi transfer and Genk has 11 wins, 1 draw and 0 losses with 8 goals conceded in the 12 starts.
That’s great for Genk. Nice to see them getting their money’s worth.
Has McKenzie brought that form to the USMNT or is he still the dangerous turnover machine that I remember? Turnovers are very hard to forgive in center backs. I’m sure it took a while for him to get comfortable with his defense in Genk.
American CB’s rarely have that luxury with the USMNT, a team with very few games and , especially , practices compared to Genk. After 15 games (13 wins, a draw and a loss) they are leading the league and have a GD of 25. Which tells you that they are good defensively. Usually that means a well organized, disciplined defensive scheme. Good coaching.
Can you say that about the USMNT? The transition from a well oiled machine to a frat party can be disorienting for some players. Unless your name is Zimmerman or Long, an American CB has about 10 seconds to prove they are better than the dynamic duo.
Then they get lumped in with the scrubs who get dusted off every once in a while to make sure their batteries haven’t discharged while sitting in the garage for so long.