Wednesday, 30th October, 2013
Barcelona's sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta has denied reports that he was in Germnay to negotiate a deal for Borussia Monchengladbach goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Ter Stegen yesterday became the leading contender to replace Victor Valdes next season, when speculation arose that Barcelona had secured a draft agreement with Gladbach.
Zubizarreta was reported to have visited Gladbach to clinch an agreement for a four-year deal with a €10m transfer fee involved.
However, though Zubizarreta admitted retaining Valdes was not possible, he was quoted by AS as saying: "I was traveling in Germany. That's the only truth in the news I saw.
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"Ter Stegen? I will not talk or tell you about what options we have, for any position. There is still plenty of time until July 2014."
Barcelona will perhaps not be hard pressed to find a Valdes replacement, with Chelsea-contracted Thibaut Courtois and Ter Stegen high on the list.
Pepe Reina is also a valid contender, given that he is only in Napoli on loan from Liverpool, but former goalkeeper Zubizarreta is not willing to commit to anything at the moment.
"We are working with the assumption that Victor [Valdes] will not be with us", he added. "I like many goalkeepers but the problem is that I always see something I do not like.
"I was a goalie, and I always find faults when I spend time watching goalkeepers."
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