Former U.S. and Premier League goalkeeper Tim Howard is returning to NBC as an analyst when its coverage of England's top division begins next week.
The network announced Tuesday that Howard will be a studio analyst. He did occasional game analysis during NBC's first three seasons of the Premier League (2013-16) while playing for Everton.
Howard made 459 appearances in 13 Premier League seasons. After playing for Major League Soccer's MetroStars from 1998-2003, he transferred to Manchester United (2003-06) and then joined Everton from 2006-16. He made a record 121 appearances for the U.S. national team, starting at the 2010 and 2014 World Cups.
Howard will work with Rebecca Lowe, Robbie Earle and Robbie Mustoe in the studio. He will fill the spot left by Kyle Martino, who left after seven seasons. Howard's recent TV work includes studio analysis for TNT during its Champions League coverage.
“It's pretty awesome to be back,” Howard said. “These are people I had a short glimpse of working with and admiring a lot. They are second to none in producing the games and they captivate an audience. Hopefully the transition to the desk will be seamless."
Howard will split his time between NBC and being a minority owner and sporting director for Memphis in the second-tier USL Championship. The 41-year-old joined Memphis after nearly four seasons as a goalkeeper with Colorado in Major League Soccer and has made four USL appearances this season.
The Premier League season starts Sept. 12 with four matches, including Liverpool beginning defense of its title when it hosts newly promoted Leeds.
“Sometimes defending is harder than winning the championship," Howard said of Liverpool. "They lost in the Community Shield (against Arsenal) and people I've talked to believe that is the kick up the backside they needed. They now know people are going to be after them because they are the defending champions.”
With only six weeks of an offseason, Howard said many coaches may approach the beginning of the season like World Cup years, where they ramp up star players slowly due to the lack of downtime.
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This story has been corrected to show that Howard played for Manchester United, not Manchester City.
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