Barcelona could turn to 23-year-old reserve team player to cover for injured mainstay

Barcelona were handed a fresh blow recently as it was confirmed that captain Marc-Andre ter Stegen will need surgery to fix his back problem.

The 31-year-old’s situation means that he could be out sidelined for a period of two to three months, leaving Barça with just Inaki Pena as the only senior goalkeeper in the squad.

Despite the situation being as it is, Barcelona have decided that they will not be signing a new goalkeeper to address the situation and will look within the club for solutions.

As such, Ander Astralaga and Diego Kochen will be the backup options between the sticks, but there is another player that Xavi might decide to count on.

Marc Vidal of Barça Atletic could be an option

As per SPORT, Marc Vidal, who is a regular starter for Rafa Marquez’s Barcelona Atletic, could be an option for first-team manager Xavi Hernandez in the absence of Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

Barça are confident that Marc Vidal, who has already played first-team football for Andorra in the second division, could cover a hypothetical absence of Inaki Pena when ter Stegen is also unavailable.

The 23-year-old is currently on loan at Barcelona from Andorra, but such have been his performances that the club are considering signing him for next season if the reserve team is promoted to the second division.

In the last few games, Barça have always called up Astralaga, who is the goalkeeper from the reserve team who has been in the first-team dynamics the most.

But Marc Vidal is a much more experienced goalkeeper with games played in senior football. He is good with his feet and could play a more important role if there is any mishap with Pena.

The normal thing is that Astralaga continues in the first-team call-ups so that Marc Vidal continues to feature in the reserve team, but if there is a mishap, he would go up to the first team.

Full confidence in Pena

Even though Pena has played only played three games so far this season, the 24-year-old has inspired great confidence…

Source link : https://barcauniversal.com/barcelona-could-turn-to-23-year-old-reserve-team-player-to-cover-for-injured-mainstay/

Author : Michel Durant

Publish date : 2023-12-07 12:23:02

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