SALT LAKE CITY — Zavier Gozo and his family were walking through the concourses of a Real Salt Lake game just two years ago when the teenaged prospect’s mom, Esther, suddenly spotted someone wearing a jersey with ‘Gozo’ imprinted on the back.The then-17-year-old played mostly for the club’s second team, the Real Monarchs, at the time, so it came as a bit of a shock to see someone with a shirt that bore his last name.“That person has to be a fan,” she said to her young son.There was simply no other way they’d have a jersey of an otherwise obscure mostly-second-team player. It was such a novelty, in fact, that Esther thought it’d be nice to memorialize the moment.“Why don’t you go up to him and say hi? I can take a video of it,” Esther said.Gozo approached the stranger.“Hey, nice jersey,” the winger said.The man smiled and nodded and turned back away. Gozo’s older brother, Elijah, a former RSL academy player who played at Utah Valley University, prompted the fan with a hint.“This is Gozo,” he said, gesturing to the shirt. “This is him.”“Pleasure,” the man said, then turned back away again. This time the body language was clear: the interaction is over.The Gozo brothers walked away into the awkwardness.“Clearly the shirt was a gift,” Zavier Gozo said with a smile and a chuckle in May, sitting on a couch with his mom and brother in the living room of their family home outside of Salt Lake City.Things have changed in the years since.The exciting, must-watch, goal-creating star was officially transferred Tuesday night to Crystal Palace for around $15 million, the second-highest up-front fee for an MLS homegrown player behind only U.S. striker Ricardo Pepi, who went for $20 million to Augsburg. (Vancouver Whitecaps homegrown Alphonso Davies was sold for $13.5 million to Bayern Munich, a fee that eventually reached $22 million with add-ons.)The Gozo shirt might now be the most popular at Real Salt Lake games, with fans delighting over the 19-year-old who has become the team’s bonafide star. His face was on billboards around Salt Lake. He played in the MLS All-Star Game. Interactions with fans have changed dramatically since.On a weekend this spring, Gozo went with his girlfriend to watch her little brother play a youth soccer game. He didn’t think anything of it and sat with her on the sideline. When one of the teams scored, however, the young goalscorer sprinted to the sideline and pointed at Gozo and then did a celebration. After the game, the Real Salt Lake star was swarmed by kids and parents wanting an autograph.“Moments like that I’m like, ‘Wow,’” Gozo said.The Utah native might need to get ready for getting recognized a whole lot more as a Premier League player. And, if he’s called in by U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino this fall, Gozo will no doubt become a household name for U.S. men’s national team fans.While he played well for the U.S. under-20 team at the U-20 World Cup, Gozo has never been called into a senior national team camp. The winger is most definitely on the radar for his senior debut. He was on the supplemental roster for Pochettino’s 2026 team, meaning he was in contention for the World Cup squad, and it was clear after the tournament that the U.S. very well could have used his ability off the bench, even without previous international experience.He has shown he’s capable of making a difference in games. The teenager had six goals and five assists in MLS before the move. Before the World Cup break, he ranked in the top 20 in MLS for goal contributions despite playing much of the season as a wingback.For now, Gozo will head to the Premier League and look to make an impression with Palace, which finished 15th in last year’s table but also won their first European trophy: the 2025-26 UEFA Conference League.Those around him have no doubt that he’s ready.“He’s got the engine, he’s got the creativity and he plays both sides of the ball,” RSL teammate and two-time U.S. World Cup veteran DeAndre Yedlin told The Athletic in May. “He’s not going to cheat at all. Very, very honest player. And most importantly to me, just a very good, humble kid, which I think is the most important thing.”