Hinting that moneybags Ligue 1 club AS Monaco is his next port of call earlier this week, Barcelona goalie Victor Valdes needs replacing.
Three names in particular have been linked with Barca, so we assess the credentials of each:
Thibaut Courtois
Atletico Madrid loan stopper Courtois is in his third season in La Liga and continues to earn rave reviews.
Last term he won the Zamora Trophy for the best defensive record and is now set to represent Belgium at next summer’s World Cup in Brazil.
Courtois has warned parent club Chelsea he will not return to Stamford Bridge and merely play second fiddle to Petr Cech, however.
“At Atletico I feel great and being here allows me to play in the Champions League,” he told the London Evening Standard.
“I’ve made great progress, especially in terms of speed, reflexes and experience. I am in my best form and I feel like I am among the five best goalkeepers in the world.”
To Gerardo Martino and Barcelona, Courtois represents the proven in Spain option.
Pepe Reina
Shipped out from Liverpool on loan to Napoli when Brendan Rodgers bought Simon Mignolet from Sunderland, Reina has always dreamed of returning to Barca.
He played almost 50 games in his first spell at the Nou Camp after coming through the ranks.
Back then in the early 2000s Barcelona were not the force that we know them to be today, but a link with that less illustrious past would surely spur Reina on.
Like Courtois, he is playing Champions League football, but Reina does not have the youth of the Belgian on his side.
At 31 he isn’t old though and could easily give Barca eight to ten years’ service in a second spell.
Signing Reina would go against the grain of Barcelona’s transfer policy, however. Not since the days of Lilian Thuram and Henrik Larsson have 30-somethings been brought in and played regularly.
Under Rafa Benitez, Reina has European Cup pedigree and remains a regular squad member of the all-conquering Spanish national team.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen
Borussia Monchengladbach number one ter Stegen is in-demand, according to his agent.
Linked to Barca in recent days, the 21-year-old would be making a huge step up however highly-rated he may be.
So long as he stays in Germany, ter Stegen will never be able to challenge Manuel Neuer for the national team’s keeping jersey.
The elevation in status playing for Barcelona would bring about might change that dynamic.
Ter Stegen has one Champions League campaign under his belt, though Monchengladbach failed to get out of the group stage.
It would be something of a gamble if Martino and the Catalan giants were to turn to this option.
Who would you like to see take over keeping duties at the Nou Camp? Let us know your thoughts below.
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