Manchester City have beaten Liverpool in the race to sign goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen from Barcelona, having also trumped the Merseyside giants for Dortmund midfielder Ilkay Gundogan, as per reports in the Telegraph.
Liverpool were reportely keen to sign a goalkeeper following a string of high-profile errors from Belgian first-choice Simon Mignolet this season. The former Sunderland goalkeeper has been unconvicncing throughout his career at Merseyside and the Reds’ supporters seem to be overwhelmingly in favour of a change.
City trump Liverpool to Ter Stegen
Having identified Barcelona’s Marc-Andre ter Stegen as their primary target, Liverpool were hoping that the German goalkeeper would want to play under countryman Jurgen Klopp. The former Borussia Monchengladbach keeper has had to play second fiddle to Claudio Bravo and is understood to be keen on a move away from the Nou Camp.
Manchester City clinch agreement to sign Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen ahead of Liverpool #mcfc #lfc https://t.co/vXWiJ4hTmd
— Matt Law (@Matt_Law_DT) March 31, 2016
However, the Telegraph is now reporting that the Citizens have trumped Liverpool for the signature of Ter Stegen.
The reports states:
Manchester City are on the verge of clinching an agreement to sign Marc-André ter Stegen from Barcelona ahead of Liverpool.
Both City and Liverpool are understood to have made bids for Ter Stegen, but the 23-year-old favours teaming up with incoming manager Pep Guardiola in Manchester.
The report goes on to add that City will pay close to £20 million for the shot-stopper, who had signed for Barcelona on a free transfer last season.
Gundogan snubs Klopp renunion
Klopp has also reportedly been snubbed by his former star midfielder Ilkay Gundogan as per reports in the Telegraph.
The reports states that Gundogan chose to join Pep Guardiola and Manchester City over his former boss and Liverpool.
Liverpool have been tracking Empoli’s Polish midfielder Piotr Zielinksi for some time now and have now made him their primary target, according to an exclusive provided by BBC’s Ben Smith for Anfield HQ.
Smith went on to say that Jurgen Klopp is looking to complete all his signings, including Mario Gotze, before the 1st of July.
Liverpool are likely to face serious competition from top clubs for their more ambitious targets and will have to continually reassess their transfer strategy to prepare the squad for next season.
