International media said on Tuesday that Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen trained by himself after returning to preseason on Sunday. There is mounting question about his future at the club.
A report says that Barcelona players had medical exams on Sunday and then had their first formal training session with new head coach Hansi Flick on Monday. Ter Stegen was noticeably missing from group activities. The club said that he worked out alone at the gym and did not go to either of the two sessions that were offered on Tuesday.
Barcelona is poised to leave on its preseason tour of Asia next week. They will play friendlies in Japan and South Korea. But it’s still not certain if Ter Stegen will go with the team.
Since Claudio Bravo left for Manchester City in 2016, the 33-year-old German international has become the team’s clear first choice goalkeeper. He joined Barcelona in 2014.
But it seems that his place in the team has gotten weaker this summer after the club paid €25 million to Espanyol for Joan Garcia.
Reports say that the club has told Ter Stegen that he is no longer part of their long-term plans and has told him to think about leaving. Still, the goalie is alleged to have declared that he wants to stay with the team.
Barcelona is said to be hoping that Ter Stegen will change his mind, especially as the club wants him to get back Germany’s number one jersey before the international games next summer.
Garcia just signed a new two-year deal, and he is likely to remain the starting goalkeeper from now on.
In late September, Ter Stegen hurt his knee badly, so Barcelona signed Wojciech Szczesny to fill in for him. Ter Stegen came back in the last few weeks of the season and played in two games, but Szczesny kept his spot for important games.
