Chelsea sets its sights on Marc-André ter Stegen

The situation of the goalkeeper at FC Barcelona has become delicate. After eleven years defending the azulgrana goal, the captain has lost prominence for various reasons, while his high salary has become a challenge for the club´s finances. With the arrival of Joan García for 25 million euros and the renewal of Wojciech Szczesny, the German is aware that having relevant minutes this season will be a complicated task. Furthermore, considering that 2026 is a World Cup year and that he is expected to be recovered from his back issues by January, his departure seems increasingly likely. Tavolieri´s report states that Chelsea has emerged as a candidate to acquire his services in the winter market.

Ter Stegen willing to listen to offers in January

Unlike last summer, when the goalkeeper did not consider leaving, the current situation has changed significantly. According to Florian Plettenberg, who coincided with what the newspaper SPORT had already reported, the former Borussia Mönchengladbach player does not rule out any possibility. The goalkeeper understands that he needs to compete regularly during the second half of the 2025-26 season if he wants to arrive in optimal condition for the World Cup and have a chance to be Germany´s starting goalkeeper, once Manuel Neuer´s retirement from the national team is confirmed. In recent months, clubs like Monaco, Newcastle, Tottenham, or Manchester United had shown interest in the goalkeeper. However, now another heavyweight contender has joined: Chelsea under Enzo Maresca. Although the Londoners have Robert Sánchez as their main goalkeeper, there is no full confidence in the former Brighton player, and they do not rule out seeking competition for that position. In this regard, Tavolieri´s information indicates that the two candidates the management is considering to strengthen the goal in January would be Mike Maignan and Marc-André ter Stegen himself.

The position of FC Barcelona

In the offices of the azulgrana club, no option is ruled out. FC Barcelona would be willing to consider both a loan until the end of the season and a permanent transfer, as freeing up the goalkeeper´s salary would provide considerable relief in terms of financial Fair Play regarding the restrictions imposed by LaLiga and Javier Tebas. However, the club´s immediate priority is for the player to fully recover from his physical problems, after several seasons marked by injuries. Once that process is overcome, the entity and the player will need to sit down to assess the future and decide if the time has come to put an end to a relationship that is already approaching twelve seasons of shared history.