Newcastle United could find themselves facing competition from Barcelona for David de Gea if they move to sign the Spaniard as a replacement for Nick Pope.
That’s according to Sport, who say Barcelona are also eyeing up a free transfer after Marc Andre Ter Stegen picked up an injury.
The newspaper explains that the German goalkeeper needs to decide whether to undergo surgery to solve a discomfort he has in his back. If he does go under the knife, he would be out for between two and three months.
Barcelona’s plan would be to replace him in-house with Iñaki Peña, but they are also paying attention to the transfer market in case things get complicated.
That could put them directly in competition with Newcastle, who have reportedly made him one of their ‘priorities’ after losing Pope to a long-term injury at the weekend. The operation is ‘still up in the air’, though, as the Spaniard has high salary expectations after his time at Old Trafford.
Another option is Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsdale, who finds himself out of the picture after the summer arrival of David Raya.
He wants to continue playing regularly ahead of Euro 2024 and could depart with that in mind, although Mikel Arteta is blocking it for now. Ramsdale is ‘firm in his idea of leaving’ despite that and Newcastle are also in the picture for him.
Thus, it could be between the Arsenal man and the former Manchester United stopper, with Newcastle in the market and Barcelona lingering in the background considering potential moves themselves.
