Barca Goalkeeper Linked with Premier League Move in Bid to Revive His Career

Champions League Winning Shot-Stopper Linked with Premier League Move

It’s fair to say Aston Villa are spoilt for choice when it comes to goalkeepers - between World Cup and Yashin Award-winning Emiliano Martinez and the vastly experienced Marc Bizot, the Villains have a safe pair of hands wherever they look, a huge factor in their current 10-game winning streak.

However, Unai Emery sees things differently. Taking a better-safe-than-sorry approach, the Spaniard has sent his recruitment team back to his home country to look at yet another goalkeeper, as the Claret and Blues prepare to make a bid for a former Champions League winner and German international.

🚨 Aston Villa are keeping tabs on Barcelona and Germany goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen.

He wants regular playing time before next year's World Cup and Villa could be in the market for a new goalkeeper with Emiliano Martínez's future at the club suddenly in doubt.

(Source:… pic.twitter.com/noEUuui0pL

— Transfer News Live (@DeadlineDayLive) December 21, 2025

His target is none other than Barcelona’s Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who for a while was considered one of the best goalkeepers on the planet.

Too Many Cooks?

Starting his career at Borussia Monchengladbach, ter Stegen secured a move to the Catalan club back in 2014 at the peak of the Messi/Suarez/Neymar (MSN) era. Initially going head to head with Dutch stopper Jasper Cillessen for the number one shirt, the German eventually secured his place as first choice goalkeeper at the start of the 2016/17 campaign.

From then on, he thrived in the Barca shirt, playing 45+ games each and every season until the beginning of the 2023/24 campaign, when an injury reduced him to watching from the sidelines.

In 2024/25, things got worse - suffering an ACL injury in mid-September, the club called the recently-retired Wojciech Szczęsny out of retirement, and the Pole went on to complete the campaign for Hansi Flick’s side, in which they won the La Liga and the Copa del Rey, and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League.

In the nine games he did manage to play last season, ter Stegen was viewed as shaky, unreliable and inconsistent, a far cry from the high level he had shown for much of the decade prior. Keeping just one clean sheet in that time, it was clear that Barcelona needed to target a new, younger goalkeeper with the future in mind.

As such, Espanyol’s Joan Garcia was acquired for around £20 million, and ever since, the Spaniard has kept the German out of the side, limiting him to just one game against Guadalajara in the Copa del Rey earlier this month.

Cameraman shows a glimpse of Ter Stegen then cuts straight to a Joan Garcia save compilation. Absolute legend😭😭 pic.twitter.com/s7wVw1QW20

— Trent (@Anghkooey_) December 21, 2025

Clearly, the 33-year-old is deemed surplus to retirement, with Szczesny also ahead of him in the pecking order, and clubs see the January transfer window as an excellent opportunity to cash in on a high-quality keeper not being given the minutes he deserves.

However, of all possible destinations, Aston Villa makes the least sense - having played just 10 games in 12 months, ter Stegen is unlikely to displace Martinez, and while he could take Bizot’s place as number one backup, it isn’t exactly a move guaranteed to earn him minutes.

It would be great to see one of the world's finest stoppers ply his trade in the Premier League, but Aston Villa is the destination many would pick if put in his shoes. Keep an eye on this one, as in the coming days more clubs could register their interest.