Marc-Andre ter Stegen has no intention of joining Newcastle United, and the Barcelona goalkeeping ace has turned down the chance to sign the Magpies.
According to a report by Spanish publication SPORT, Newcastle United have been handed a major blow in their pursuit of Marc-Andre ter Stegen. The Barcelona goalkeeper is uninterested in joining the Magpies and has already snubbed an offer from them, citing an absence of a technical structure as his reasoning.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen has established himself as one of the best goalkeepers in the world since joining Barcelona from Borussia Monchengladbach in July 2014. Initially used primarily in UEFA Champions League, the 29-year-old took no time to become the undisputed first-choice shot-stopper for the Blaugrana and has not looked back since.
To date, the German international has made 292 appearances for Barcelona, keeping 118 clean sheets in the process. However, of late, there have been suggestions that Barcelona might be open to offloading ter Stegen due to a recent slump in his form. Such a situation has alerted Newcastle United.
The interest from Newcastle United is hardly surprising, considering they are set for a major squad overhaul following the club’s takeover by the Public Investment Fund. And it has been claimed that the Magpies will bolster just about every position in the squad in the coming transfer windows.
As far as the goalkeeping department is concerned, there appears to be no need of signing a big-name star, considering Martin Dubravka and Karl Darlow have been largely reliable. At the same time, Freddie Woodman is tipped for a bright future. Nevertheless, with Newcastle keen on signing a goalkeeper, it makes sense that they are targeting one of the best in the world.
However, ter Stegen has no intention of joining Newcastle as he believes the club has no technical structure at the moment. So, the Barcelona ace has rebuffed the offer from the Magpies, who must now set their sights on another goalkeeper. To that end, they have been linked with Dean Henderson, Nick Pope and Bono.
As far as ter Stegen is concerned, his place at Barcelona is still not safe. As iterated earlier, the Catalan giants are not opposed to the idea of selling the 29-year-old amid their own links with several goalkeepers, including Andre Onana. So, it remains to be seen what the future has in store for the German international, who needs to rediscover his form to become an indispensable figure for Barcelona again.
