The Columbus Crew and Major League Soccer are close to finalizing a transfer that will send U.S. national team goalkeeper Zack Steffen to Manchester City for a fee somewhere between $7 million and $10 million, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the deal. The move would be completed when the international transfer window opens on Jan. 1st.



The 2018 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year, Steffen has spent the past two and a half seasons with Columbus after transferring from Freiburg in Germany. He played nine games on loan in 2016 before taking over the starting job for Gregg Berhalter’s Columbus Crew in 2017.



Transfer negotiations are still ongoing, two sources said, but the deal could be one of the biggest in MLS history, along with Alphonso Davies to Bayern Munich, which could reach as high as $19 million, and Jozy Altidore to Villarreal in 2008, which was reported as $10 million.



Columbus will maintain a percentage of Steffen’s rights in the...