During negotiations with Ronald Koeman about an employment as head coach, Barcelona did not agree with his wish to bring his own goalkeeper to the Camp Nou. Koeman wanted to replace José Ramón de la Fuente or appoint an extra goalkeeper, but at the request of goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen, that does not happen, writes Sport Wednesday.

The club gave Koeman permission to include Alfred Schreuder and Henrik Larsson in its technical staff. However, it is known that Ter Stegen, the first goalkeeper of Barcelona, has a good relationship with De la Fuente. The former goalkeeper was brought to Barcelona in 2012 by the late Tito Vilanova. He remained the goalkeeper under successors Gerardo Martino, Luis Enrique, Ernesto Valverde and Quique Setién.

Setién did choose to bring in an extra goalkeeper with Jon Pascua, who supported De la Fuente. The relationship between Pascua and Ter Stegen was slightly less good; De la Fuente remained the head coach of the German. The question was whether Koeman would also get permission from the club management to bring his own man, who would work with De la Fuente. The club did not agree with that wish.

The choice of Barcelona is seen as a signal towards Ter Stegen: the club management wants to make it clear to the goalkeeper that he is seen as a key player. Barcelona is working on the contract extension of Ter Stegen, whose current commitment expires in the summer of 2022, and hopes that with this gesture the goalkeeper will have good will. However, Ter Stegen himself hopes that Barcelona will present a plan to achieve sporting successes in the coming years before he signs up, so it sounds.

Josep Maria Bartomeu hopes to be able to announce before the end of his term, in March 2021, that Ter Stegen has extended his contract. The chairman does not disagree with Koeman for the first time. For example, the new coach has anticipated the arrival of Georginio Wijnaldum of Liverpool, but Bartomeu prefers Thiago Alcántara of Bayern Munich. In addition, Bartomeu has not yet managed to take over the Memphis Depay from Olympique Lyon, which Koeman wanted.