MLS product Auston Trusty joins Birmingham City on loan from Arsenal

Auston Trusty’s first season as an Arsenal player will be spent on loan at Championship side Birmingham City, the latter club announced Friday.

Trusty recently departed the Colorado Rapids for England, having spent the first half of the 2022 MLS season at the reigning Western Conference regular-season champions. He originally secured a deadline-day transfer to Arsenal, another Kroenke Sports & Entertainment-owned club, back on Jan. 31.

The 23-year-old defender arrives at Birmingham City after recording three goals and five assists in 113 MLS regular-season matches (110 starts) across stints with Colorado and the Philadelphia Union. He originally turned pro with Philadelphia in 2016 as a homegrown player before being traded to Colorado ahead of the 2020 campaign.

Mainly a left-sided center back, Trusty has been in US men’s national team camp though hasn’t debuted at the senior level. He played for the US at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2017 as they reached the quarterfinals.

In the Championship, he’ll come up against former Orlando City SC forward Daryl Dike (now at West Bromwich Albion). USMNT goalkeeper and Columbus Crew product Zack Steffen is also expected to join Middlesbrough on loan from Manchester City.

Trusty is one of two MLS players who’s recently joined Arsenal, following USMNT goalkeeper and former New England Revolution star Matt Turner.