Barcelona are reportedly open to offloading back-up goalkeeper Neto with a view of promoting youngsters Inaki Pena and Arnau Tenas.
The 30-year-old has made just four appearances so far this season as while he is of course merely a back-up option to first-choice goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, he has picked up injury setbacks along the way too.
With the German shot-stopper establishing himself as one of the top players in his position in Europe and having been a reliable option between the posts for some time now as he remains on course to make over 40 appearances in a single campaign for the fourth straight season, it has been suggested that the Catalan giants could look to offload Neto and oversee a reshuffle in the pecking order behind their star man.
According to Sport, Barcelona are open to listening to offers for Neto with interest said to be building from Italy with Inter specifically mentioned, if he does move on, that void will then be filled by Inaki Pena who will have his contract extended until 2023, while Arnau Tenas would then move up a spot in the future too.
It seems like a sensible strategy in truth given Ter Stegen’s ongoing importance to the side and consistency in terms of his appearances, while ESPN noted earlier this week that Barcelona are under pressure to raise €70m in player sales to try and balance their books.
Neto would potentially warrant a decent fee given his quality and experience, while the reigning La Liga champions wouldn’t be losing much given his lack of playing time and would ultimately be simultaneously opening the door to give some of their homegrown youngsters a chance to have a future at the club too.
—
“I saw some comments in regards to my son, people saying: ‘I hope your son gets corona’.” – Troy Deeney is getting abuse for refusing to play. He has since decided to resume training, following medical advice. READ MORE…
—