Newcastle United’s qualification for the Champions League next season will give Eddie Howe hope that he can lure some high-profile players to Stamford Bridge.
One player they are showing interest in is Jadon Sancho. The Manchester United winger looks set to depart Old Trafford this summer.
The Englishman could cost the club around £25m, and he would certainly bolster their wide options, given his return of five goals and eight assists for Chelsea this season.
It would be a massive statement of intent if Howe could secure a deal for the former Borussia Dortmund starlet. While adding wingers will help the club next season, perhaps it is other positions that require strengthening first.
Newcastle enter the race to sign Barcelona star
One position that Howe must improve is his goalkeeping department. The club conceded 47 Premier League goals last term, the worst defensive record out of any side in the top five.
Thus, bringing in a top-class goalkeeper ahead of another Champions League campaign makes perfect sense.
According to reports in Spain, Barcelona’s keeper Marc-André ter Stegen could be set to leave the club following the arrival of Joan Garcia.
PSG, AC Milan, Manchester City, and Juventus have all expressed interest in the German international, but Newcastle are also entering the race.
Beating these clubs to the signature of Ter Stegen would be a major coup for Howe; that much is certain. Indeed, he would be an even better signing than Sancho.
Why Newcastle must sign Marc-André ter Stegen
Signing Sancho could prove to be a massive gamble. For Man United, the winger scored just 12 goals across 83 matches for the club. His loan spell at Chelsea didn’t exactly see him sparkle either.
His 41 matches for the Blues saw only five goals netted, and it was no surprise that they declined to sign him permanently. Given the fact that Newcastle can call upon players such as Harvey Barnes, Anthony Gordon, and Jacob Murphy on the wing, do they need to splash out to sign Sancho? Especially with the risks involved with his lacklustre form.
In this instance, making a move for Ter Stegen would be seen as the smarter approach. That’s for sure.
Last season, Nick Pope kept just eight clean sheets from 35 appearances, while Martin Dubravka kept five clean sheets across ten domestic matches for the Magpies.
If Howe is serious about progressing far in the Champions League next season, making a move to bring Ter Stegen to England would be a very shrewd move indeed.
Metric
Pope
Dubravka
Clean sheets
8
5
Saves per game
3.1
2.9
Touches per game
34.8
38
Goals conceded
35
12
Goals conceded per game
1.3
1.2
Pass success rate
65%
76%
He played just nine games last season for Barcelona, keeping a solitary clean sheet. The German has been with the La Liga giants since the summer of 2014, playing over 400 competitive matches in the process.
A total of 175 clean sheets have been kept throughout that period. While he may not have featured much this term, in La Liga during 2023/24, he was excellent.
Across his 28 matches, Ter Stegen made 2.7 saves per game – a success rate of 74% – while he was also successful with 100% of his runs out per game.
He was comfortable on the ball, as evidenced by his average of 40 touches per game, while a 94% pass accuracy in his own half suggests the German moves the ball on effectively.
The player was lauded as “ice cool” by popular X page Goalkeeper.com for the way he snuffed out an opponent’s attack in the Champions League in September 2023.
Given the fact that he has a contract until 2028 with the Catalan giants, a move would cost the club, although it hasn’t been determined just how much Hansi Flick will demand for his player.
Sancho would be a fine signing, no doubt, but bringing Ter Stegen to the north-east would certainly turn heads.
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