USMNT player Sebastian Berhalter closes in on transfer to Championship club

Middlesbrough continue to be active during this summer’s transfer window.

Having penned a deal for former Tottenham Hotspur starlet Will Lankshear, the EFL Championship outfit are now on the brink of bringing in one of the United States Men’s National Team’s biggest names in Sebastian Berhalter.

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According to a report from The Athletic, the 25-year-old midfielder is finalizing the switch from MLS side Vancouver Whitecaps to Boro for a fee of roughly $2 million (£1.5 million).

Middlesbrough reportedly beat out 6-10 other clubs who were thought to have ‘seriously pursued’ Berhalter’s signature this summer.

He was omitted from the Whitecaps’ squad in their 4-3 defeat to Cincinnati on Wednesday night as the deal advanced.

With Berhalter set to be out of contract this winter, the Whitecaps seized the opportunity to recuperate some funds and avoid letting him walk away on a free transfer.

Berhalter has spent his entire senior career playing in MLS, having suited up for the Columbus Crew and Austin FC in the early parts of his career.

But his tenure with the Whitecaps has been by far his most successful. He’s registered 20 goals and 26 assists in 167 appearances for the Canadian outfit.

Boro bringing in one of MLS’ brightest talents

In the 2025 MLS campaign, the box-to-box midfielder had five goals and 13 assists in all competitions, and was named in the MLS Best XI, helping the Whitecaps to the Canadian Championship title.

He was also instrumental in the Whitecaps reaching the MLS Cup final last season, though they ultimately lost out to Lionel Messi and Inter Miami.

Vancouver also reached the CONCACAF Champions Cup final last season, but lost 5-0 to Mexican side Cruz Azul.

Having earned All-Star recognition in 2026, Berhalter was rewarded by being named as part of Mauricio Pochettino‘s 26-man USMNT squad for the 2026 World Cup, making his debut off the bench in the second half of their 4-1 thumping of Paraguay.

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He even got on the scoresheet during the Group Stages of the competition, netting the Stars and Stripes’ equalizer against Turkey, although the USMNT would fall to a late goal in stoppage time to lose 3-2.

He wound up featuring in all five (one start) of the States’ games of this summer’s tournament on home soil, adding an assist.

Berhalter now follows in the steps of his father Gregg – the former USMNT head coach – footsteps by moving across the pond to England with his father playing for Premier League side Crystal Palace at the time he was born in 2001.

Middlesbrough are currently on a promotion push, having come narrowly close in the 2025-26 campaign, finishing in fifth place to cement a playoff spot.

Although they would lose to Southampton 2-1 on aggregate after extra time in the semi-finals, they advanced to the final after the Saints were expelled from the competition due to SpyGate.

However, Hull City ultimately proved to be too much for Boro on the day in front of the 80,000-plus fans at Wembley Stadum as Oli McBurnie netted the winning goal in stoppage time to bring their Premier League aspirations for the 2026/27 season to an end.

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