Danny Higginbotham, one of the top Premier League commentators the last few years, recently relocated to the USA. His move mirrors a similar one made recently by Premier League broadcast veteran Jon Champion who relocated to the U.S. in 2019 to become ESPN’s lead voice on MLS and U.S. Men’s National Team matches.

Higginbotham, who has been familiar to American Premier League viewers for his work on Sky Sports, Premier League Productions and BT Sport, has also appeared on NBC’s Premier League coverage in the past as well as this season. A familiar face as a player, he was part of Manchester United’s famous class of ’92, but is probably best known for his playing days at Stoke City during a period of time when the Premier League was growing quickly in popularity stateside.

This week, the Philadelphia Union announced that Higginbotham would join the commentary team of the 2020 MLS Supporter’s Shield winners ahead of the 2021 season.

Speaking to World Soccer Talk this week, Higginbotham talked about his move stateside.

“The main reason for moving initially was due to Philadelphia Union and the opportunity they have given me. When I first met up with them, you saw straight away how they want to do things and they want to be the best and it’s great to be on board. It has been the perfect move because my wife is also from Philadelphia as well so in terms of a family move it made sense as well.”

Danny Higginbotham and Analysis

Since moving to the United States in October, Higginbotham has featured on both CBS Sports HQ coverage during UEFA Champions League match days and on NBC’s Premier League coverage across its various platforms.

Analyzing UEFA club competitions for CBS Sports HQ, Higginbotham has enhanced an already strong team of analysts and commentators who take a deep dive into both Champions League and Europa League. The CBS Sports HQ coverage compliments both the traditional studio coverage on CBS All Access and CBS Sports Network as well as The Golazo Show on CBS Sports Network.

On Premier League coverage this season for NBC Sports, Higginbotham has added a seriousness of analysis and a layer of knowledge that has enhanced their studio presentation. On his very first post-match show, he was able to enhance the conversation and analysis of the Brighton-Southampton match, the type of fixture that recently NBC has minimized discussion of before moving on to topics related to big six clubs.

This past weekend, that level of analysis was once again present. For example, he pinpointed the strengths in emerging Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze’s game, having watched him at QPR the past few seasons in the Championship. Additionally, Danny Higginbotham gave the type of analysis of Fulham during halftime and post match of the Cottagers 1-1 draw with Liverpool that U.S. fans of the club have longed for. American Fulham fans have long complained both publicly on social media, and privately to me, about the “big six” slant of both NBC and ESPN studio shows when they discuss English football.

Diverse Work

Higginbotham is thus far enjoying his work with both CBS and NBC.

“It’s been great so far. The attention to detail from both and the professionalism and organization has been an absolute different class and both have amazing team work and have made me feel welcome from the get go.”

UK viewers accustomed to seeing Higginbotham on their television screens won’t lose out on him completely. He will still appear, when available, on Sky Sports News most Thursday morning’s to preview the upcoming weekend fixtures.

This coming weekend, Higginbotham will be in the NBC Premier League studio Saturday and Sunday alongside Robbie Mustoe to provide analysis. On Monday, Higginbotham will be flanked alongside Robbie Earle.

Editor’s note: View the Premier League schedule on NBC Sports for the next several weeks.