Rumours: Man City leading the race for Liverpool transfer target
Mar 31, 2016 at 11:39 AM
Manchester City are reportedly leading the race to sign Barcelona’s German keeper Marc-Andre ter stegen leaving behind Liverpool as the youngster is keen to work with incoming City boss Pep Guardiola.
Ter Stegen has had to adjust with playing second fiddle to Chilean goalkeeper Claudio Bravo at the Nou Camp this term, playing just four La Liga games despite enjoying every single minute of the Barcelona’s Champions League endeavours.
The highly-rated German finally got fed up with his situation on the reserve bench earlier this month following reports emerging that he desperately wants to leave Barca; speculation which he reignited after giving some loose answers when asked about his future.
Ter Stegen has also revealed he will soon hold final talks with Barcelona regarding his future as the former Borussia Monchengladbach keeper believes playing 25 games a season is not at all “sufficient.”
“Obviously I also have personal goals. The coach decides the way he decides, I guess he has his reasons to do so. But we will see how this goes on in the future,” he said this week, as quoted the Daily Mail.
And despite it looked like Liverpool were firmly in the driver’s seat to secure the signing of the 23-year-old shotstopper, reports now suggest that Manchester City are on the brink of agreeing a stunning deal which would apparently see him contest the No.1 jersey at the Etihad with Joe Hart from next season onwards, according to a report from the Telegraph.
Barcelona have always insisted that ter Stegen is not up for sale and that he has a contract which runs till 2019 with a £60m buy-out clause. However, they could be tempted this summer with a massive offer
Some reports suggest third-choice keeper Jordi Masip is now ready enough to step in as Claudio Bravo’s understudy, and that’s why Barca hierarchy regards £20m as a fair valuation for Ter Stegen.
It is believed Capital One Cup-final hero Willy Caballero will be given green signal to leave the Etihad in the summer with Manchester City ready to splash out somewhere in the region of £20 million to bring in the Barcelona keeper.
It will certainly be one of the first signs of the incoming Guardiola influence which is about to shake the Premier League, with a number of star performers across Europe possibly on their way to England to join the instrumental Spanish tactician.
Ter Stegen, who has won four caps for Germany, eventually fits the bill, and City’s links at Barcelona could help the deal make successful.
If City succeeds in their bid then it will be a bitter blow to Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp though, who is expected to dig deep in the upcoming transfer window for a goalkeeper despite recently giving inconsistent Simon Mignolet a new five-and-a-half-year deal at Anfield.