Having lost his place as number 1 at the Catalans, Andre-Marc ter Stegen may find himself playing in the Turkish Super Lig next season. Softfootball have gathered that Turkish champions, Galatasaray are expanding their search for a new goalkeeper.
Galatasaray, who are entering a new era following Fernando Muslera’s departure after 14 years at the club are watching closely Wolves’ Jose Sa as they await clarity on Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s future at Barcelona.
The Super Lig champions are still keeping Ter Stegen their top priority, but with the German still standing firm on his contract with Barcelona, they are preparing a Plan B in Sa. Sa joined Wolves in 2021, made 30 appearances last season and has still two years left on his contract.
The Goal reports that the situation between Ter Stegen and Barcelona remains tense since he has been informed that he will no longer be the first-choice goalkeeper next season. Upon returning to pre-season training, the German reportedly trained alone in the gym, away from the rest of the squad.
Despite Barca’s clear stance, Ter Stegen is adamant about staying with the Spanish champions and competing for his place with the new signing Joan Garcia.
Meanwhile, Galatasaray are ready to table a four-year contract offer for Ter Stegen, including a salary hike on the condition that he is released on a free transfer. The club are maintaining open communication with the 33-year-old’s camp in case his stance softens in the coming weeks, but are keeping other options open.
Ter Stegen has won 19 trophies with Barcelona since his arrival at the club in 2014. These include six La Liga titles, five Copa del Rey, three Supercopa de Espana, and one apiece of the Champions League, Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup. However, he missed long spells in two of the last three campaigns, including a knee injury that kept him sidelined for eight months.
Softfootball had earlier reported that Ter Stegen’s future was to be decided as he was to have a private talk with head coach, Hansi Flick as they began preparation for the coming season.
Barcelona will begin preparations for the 2025-26 season starts on Sunday. Hansi Flick had set July 13th as resumption date for all players to resume for the new season after about 4 weeks holiday with senior players are expected to be there from the first day,
Barca’s first training session will take place on Monday and Flick’s side will spend the following 10 days working at their Joan Gamper training facilities. On July 24, they will fly to Japan for a pre-season tour where they face local side Vissel Kobe before travelling to South Korea to face FC Seoul and Daegu.
