Taylor Booth is reveling in the feeling of returning to his boyhood club after joining Real Salt Lake on loan.
Booth, who will join younger brother Zak at the RSL side, came through the club’s academy before joining Bayern Munich’s youth teams, but he is now back on loan from FC Twente for the 2027 MLS sprint season with an option to buy.
The RSL side he joins are currently struggling for form, having gone 10 consecutive games without a win before the World Cup break.
But Booth is delighted to be back at the club where he grew up and is looking forward to making an appearance for them.
“It’s been a busy few days,” Booth, who has been plagued by injuries in recent seasons, told KSL Sports. “But to finally be here and step on the court for the first time, it’s an amazing feeling.
“It feels surreal to be back. I couldn’t be happier.
“This is an opportunity I had to take at this point in my career. Coming back home and coming back with RSL is a special feeling for me.
“I kind of lost my love for the game. This opportunity came and it was the perfect opportunity for me to come back and enjoy football again, play with a smile and be around a lot of good people. But getting back in the game is the most important thing.”
RSL is 10th in the Western Conference, just one point behind last-place playoff finishers San Diego FC, and they will look to improve their playoff chances against New York City FC.
Like their hosts, New York FC are in poor form, having failed to win any of their past seven MLS games.
They just clung to a playoff spot, though, as they finished ninth in the Eastern Conference despite the closing pace of the teams below them.
Utah’s own.
Welcome home, Taylor! pic.twitter.com/OWiSt6q3MI
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) September 2, 2026
Players to watch
The real salt lake – Sabalob Janidze
Lobjanidze came off the bench to score Real Salt Lake’s only goal in a 2-1 win over the Houston Dynamo on Wednesday.
This is Lobjanidze’s fourth goal from the bench this season. Since joining RSL in the summer (1 goal, 3 assists), only three players (Tyrese Spice 7, Tom Barlow 6, Bruno Caicedo 5) have scored more goals in MLS all season.
New York City Football Club – Luighi
Luigi has scored three of New York City’s last five goals, including his 71st-minute strike on Wednesday in a 2-1 loss to the New England Revolution.
The goal ended New York FC’s streak of nine consecutive goals in the first half of the regular season.
Game Prediction: Real Salt Lake City Wins
Real Salt Lake are unbeaten in four home games against New York City (W3 D1), although NYCFC did earn a point when they last visited Sandy in June 2023.
The only away victory in the seven meetings between the two sides was a 3-2 win by RSL in June 2016.
However, after losing 1-2 to Houston, RSL’s regular season winless streak extended to 10 games (D4, D6). Their only extended winless streak occurred in the club’s first three MLS seasons (12 consecutive seasons in 2005 and 11 consecutive seasons in 2007).
But New York FC was also in trouble. They lost 1-2 at home to New England, and their winless record in all competitions reached 8 games (3 draws and 5 losses). This is the club’s longest winless streak since its 12-game drought from April to June 2023.
OPTA winning probability
Real Salt Lake – 50.1%
Tie – 23.8%
New York City Football Club – 26.1%