Why Barcelona should keep hold of Marc-Andre Ter Stegen

According to reports in Spain (h/t Daily Mail), Bundesliga side Bayern Munich are interested in signing Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who is Barcelona’s No 1, in the summer.

Ter Stegen, 27, came through the ranks of Borussia Monchengladbach’s youth system and was promoted to the club’s senior side in 2010. In 127 games for the Bundesliga outfit, he kept 45 clean sheets and his impressive performances earned him a move to Camp Nou in the summer of 2014.

After struggling for two years, playing second-fiddle to Claudio Bravo, he became the first-choice stopper when the Chilean moved to England. Since then, ter Stegen has made 224 appearances for the Blaugrana and has become one of the best players in the squad. Hence, the Catalans should not leave their star player leave amidst interest from Bayern Munich.

Despite claiming the top spot in the league, Quique Setien’s men have been inconsistent throughout the campaign. Star forward Lionel Messi has been saving them on every single occasion, delivering the goods time and again.

Barcelona’s defence has also not been at its best as they have conceded 31 goals so far which is the second-highest among the top six teams in Spain. To put things into perspective, they conceded only 36 throughout the whole of the last campaign.

However, goalkeeper ter Stegen has been at his best, keeping 8 clean sheets so far. In the last two campaigns, he has come second on the list of most clean sheets in a season behind Atletico Madrid’s Jan Oblak. The German international has been brilliant for the Catalans and is one of the few players making a difference for the side.

Though Barca lost 0-2 to Real Madrid earlier this month, the German shot-stopper was at his best and made a number of saves. He was also instrumental in the 1-0 victory over Atletico in December and has put in several match-winning performances for the La Liga giants.

At 27, ter Stegen still has his best years ahead of him and Barcelona must be able to enjoy his services for a few more seasons as he is currently in the form of his life. His experience would come in handy for the manager and he can be one of their leaders on the pitch.

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Verdict

The Catalan giants have only 2 goalkeepers and Brazilian Neto hasn’t featured much. And Ter Stegen is the only established and in-form shot-stopper. He has been reliable in the past four years as he has helped them lift several trophies and can still do better.

Therefore, Barcelona should not let the former Monchengladbach man return to Germany in the summer.