Barcelona Sporting Director Deco says that they are not thinking of bringing in a long-term successor for first-choice goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen. The German is likely to miss the rest of the season through a knee injury, his third surgery in the space of four years.
Last season he missed out on multiple months of action too, sparking talk that the Blaugreana were considering their long-term future at the position. For the short-term, Wojciech Szczesny was brought out of retirement to compete with Inaki Pena.
During an interview with MD though, Deco said that ter Stegen was the man for the foreseeable.
“No. Marc still has three years on his contract, he is young for a goalkeeper, 32 years old, and we must focus on him recovering well and returning well. Therefore, having two goalkeepers who give us guarantees is important, so as not to be in a hurry for him to return. We are analysing it little by little, I don’t think it is something we have to consider now.”
Deco: "We aren't betting on La Masia players for FFP reasons, we are betting on them because of their quality."
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) November 14, 2024
Deco explained that they wanted Szczesny in order to compete with Pena, and that Hansi Flick would decide who played, when it was put to him the Polish goalkeeper would only stay if he were a regular. In particular, Diogo Costa of Porto has been highlighted as their reported favourite for the position.
“First he doesn’t come in because we have Ter Stegen. I’m not looking at any goalkeeper right now because when Marc is well we won’t sign anyone for him. Also, if I am Diogo I don’t know if I would come to Barcelona to be a substitute. We are not considering signing him and if I were in his place I would want to go to a club where I knew I was going to play. We are happy with the goalkeepers we have today. I wish him luck and, first of all, that he wins with Porto.”
Barcelona have been linked with a variety of goalkeepers in recent months, including Mio Backhaus at Werder Bremen, Lucas Chevalier at Lille, and even Joan Garcia at Espanyol. However if Deco is to be believed, it looks like they will be relying on ter Stegen – certainly it would be difficult to move his salary. Pena and Szczesny are both out of contract in 2026 and 2025 though, so Deco will have to do some work on the position.
