Liverpool eyeing second Barca stopper as potential number one
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Having lost out on former Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes, who snubbed Liverpool to join bitter rivals Manchester United, Brendan Rodgers is reportedly keen to alleviate the Catalan giants of another stopper instead.
The Reds’ boss is in the market to find a replacement for bungling keeper Simon Mignolet and Barcelona’s Marc-Andre ter Stegen has been identified.
The 22-year-old was only brought to the Nou Camp in the summer after impressing sufficiently between the sticks at Borussia Monchengladbach to earn a £9.7m move.
Unfortunately for the former Gladbach number one, the dream move has so far proved a frustrating one in terms of playing time, leading to the interest from Liverpool.
Ter Stegen, 22, has been forced to take a back seat while Claudio Bravo takes the gloves for La Liga games, leaving the German to stand in when the cup competitions come around.
“It’s good to be at Barca but the situation is difficult. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t care and it isn’t easy being a spectator,” the German told newspaper Bild recently.
Arsenal and Manchester United have also shown interest in Ter Stegen, though the Red Devils’ capture of Valdes appears to negate the need for another keeper, which works in Liverpool’s favour.
Rodgers’ decision to drop Mignolet for an ‘indefinite period’ only to be forced into recalling the Belgian after stand-in Brad Jones got injured, means a replacement is a vital purchase if the Reds are to turn their season around.
Mignolet hasn’t kept a clean sheet in his last three appearances since returning to the first-team fold and has only managed three shut-outs from 26 games all season.
Liverpool are next in action at Sunderland in Saturday’s early kick-off, where Rodgers’ men are 20/21 for the three points.
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