Manchester City are reportedly set to sign yet another Bundesliga star this summer, in the form of Stefan Ortega.
When Manchester City raid the Bundesliga, they often tend to sign players who are one of the best in the league. They are set to follow the tradition with the capture of Stefan Ortega, as per The Guardian.
The report suggests Manchester City have a verbal agreement with Ortega and will look to bring the Arminia Bielefeld goalkeeper to Etihad if Zack Steffen leaves the club in search of regular game-time ahead next season. Ortega will be available as a free agent from the start of July, so Manchester City won’t have to cut a deal with Arminia.
A native of Hofgeismer, a small town in the district of Kassel, Ortega played the majority of his youth career at Arminia Bielefeld, before being promoted to the senior team in 2011. The 29-year-old played for 1860 Munich briefly before returning to Bielefeld in 2017.
After playing the majority of his career in the lower leagues of German football, Ortega was handed an opportunity to prove his mettle at the highest level when his heroics helped Arminia secure promotion during the 2019/20 campaign.
Since then, the 29-year-old has seemingly established himself as one of the finest goalkeepers in the Bundesliga. Ortega has performed consistently over the past couple of years, making quite an impression with his shot-stopping abilities and intuition inside the box. Many even regard him as Germany’s third-best goalkeeper after Manuel Neuer and Kevin Trapp.
Although Arminia were relegated this past season, Ortega could continue his adventures at the highest level of football by joining Manchester City this summer. As mentioned earlier, the German is being targeted as a direct replacement for Steffen, who is keen on leaving the Etihad in search of game-time.
The American international wants to trump Rob Turner for a place in goal in the USMNT setup in the upcoming FIFA World Cup. A move away from Manchester City, therefore, could be essential if he harbours hopes to remain the number one choice for his country.
Rather ironically, Manchester City are expected to bring in Ortega as his replacement, even though the German himself requires regular game-time in order to make the Germany squad, ahead of the likes of Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Bernd Leno, among many others.
Ortega, though, is likely not worried about his chances at the World Cup and wants to become a part of the Manchester City squad that is poised to take the Champions League and the Premier League by storm next season, especially after the arrival of Erling Haaland.
