Barcelona goalkeeper update: Szczesny renewal and Ter Stegen frustrated

Barcelona are in hot pursuit of Espanyol goalkeeper Joan Garcia, as they hope to be the side to activate his €25m release clause. His future remains up in the air, but one thing is for certain: Marc-Andre ter Stegen is not impressed.

The German goalkeeper was due to reprise his role as number one goalkeeper next season, following a serious knee injury this year, recently commenting that he has ‘never felt better’. Yet Barcelona have decided that Garcia is too good an opportunity to miss, and recently it emerged not only that they are willing to hand the 24-year-old the number one spot, but also sell ter Stegen if the move does go ahead.

Ter Stegen still has three years left on his deal, and one of the highest salaries in the squad, hence would be tricky to move on. Marca note that ter Stegen is not happy with what he has read in the press over the last few days, but is dealing with it calmly. They say the 33-year-old is focused on getting back to his best, first with Germany next week in the Nations League, and then with Barcelona.

In the background, Wojciech Szczesny, who is set to be the back-up, has made a decision on his future. It had been said that he may wait until Barcelona resolve their situation with Garcia and ter Stegen before committing, but the same outlet explain that he has decided to accept Barcelona’s renewal offer, and will stay until at least the end of 2026.

One reason for positivity for ter Stegen is his return to Germany duty. During a press conference, the manager of die Mannschaft, Julian Nagelsmann confirmed to Sport that he was the number one.

“Ter Stegen is going to start. He’s going to play both games as the starting goalkeeper because from now on, he’s going to be the national team’s starting goalkeeper. He’s been very good in training. It’s true he hasn’t played for a while, but he looks good, and I have absolute confidence in him.”

Nagelsmann was aware of the transfer speculation, but did not want to get into it.

“I spoke with Hansi about Ter Stegen, and he made it clear he was fit, but not about Barcelona’s transfer plans. I read he’s a potential candidate for sale, but I’m the Germany coach, and that’s none of my business.”