Barcelona decide to sign Marc-Andre ter Stegen replacement | OneFootball

Barcelona have suffered another major loss to their side after captain Marc-Andre ter Stegen was ruled out for the next eight months following a horrific knee injury. While the Blaugrana could not afford a replacement for Marc Bernal, ter Stegen’s much higher salary means the Blaugrana can look for a replacement using 80% of his salary due to the emergency injury rule.

Ter Stegen is likely to be out for the majority of the season, and Marca report that manager Hansi Flick and Sporting Director Deco met on Monday to discuss their next steps after the injury. They came to the conclusion that they should act and bring in another goalkeeper, rather than rely solely on Inaki Pena and Ander Astralaga, as they did in Barcelona’s admittedly shorter absence last season.

They are yet to work out what type of goalkeeper that will be, and while it is not ruled out that they wait until January to move, the intention is that they bring in an alternative to Pena immediately. It could be a more experienced goalkeeper, or someone that Barcelona already know well that is without a team.

Deco will also have to work out how to transmit this message to Pena. They had been planning to offer him contract renewal to extend his deal beyond 2026, but bringing in alternative would very much open the doors to his exit. If nothing else, due to the clear lack of faith in him.

It should be noted that former Barcelona goalkeepers Edgar Badia and Jordi Masip are both currently without a team, while Claudio Bravo has offered himself to the club as of Monday, which would involve coming out of retirement. Another option that has been mentioned is Las Palmas’ Alvaro Valles, one of the best goalkeepers in Spain last season, but that would require waiting until January.