La Liga heavyweights Barcelona are reportedly prepared to cash in on 30-year-old goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen in the summer transfer window.
According to reputed Spanish journalist Manu Carreno, Barcelona could look to sell Marc-Andre ter Stegen in the summer transfer window. The Catalan giants need to balance their books before launching the offensive for their targets, and the 30-year-old star could be one of their cash cows, the other being Frenkie de Jong.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen joined Barcelona from Borussia Monchengladbach in July 2014 and has since gone from strength to strength at Camp Nou. The German international initially played exclusively in the UEFA Champions League before becoming the undisputed first-choice goalkeeper for Barcelona in the 2015/16 season.
The 30-year-old subsequently grew in stature enormously at FC Barcelona, once even rated nearly as important as Lionel Messi for the Blaugrana. But ter Stegen’s performance levels have dipped in the last two seasons, as he has become error-prone, which has cost Barcelona precious points in the process.
But ter Stegen’s record for Barcelona is pretty solid, as he has kept 128 clean sheets in 323 outings thus far, letting in 327 goals in the process. But the German goalkeeping star’s stock has reduced at Camp Nou, and he is not indispensable anymore for the Blaugrana.
According to Manu Carreno, Barcelona could put ter Stegen up for sale in the summer transfer window. While offloading the 30-year-old will be a tough call from Barcelona, the Catalan giants need to balance their books before they can hope to launch the offensive for their preferred targets in the summer transfer window.
Selling ter Stegen will thus likely be a forced decision, with Frenkie de Jong another player who faces an uncertain future at Camp Nou. Recent reports have claimed that the Dutch international is closing in on joining Manchester United, reuniting with Erik ten Hag, in the summer transfer window.
Selling ter Stegen will mean Barcelona will need to sign a new goalkeeper in the summer, even though they rate Inaki Pena highly. Even if Pena becomes the new first-choice goalkeeper, Barcelona will have to bring in a new backup goalkeeper, with Neto facing an uncertain future amid links with Arsenal and AS Roma. As for ter Stegen, the 30-year-old could depart from Camp Nou to help Barcelona balance the books.
