City Xtra
·7 October 2024
In partnership with
Yahoo sportsCity Xtra
·7 October 2024
Manchester City may be faced with the prospect of losing a key member of their goalkeeping contingent during the upcoming transfer windows, according to reports.
It comes after a summer of uncertainty concerning the future of long-term mainstay first-choice goalkeeper Ederson, who was at the centre of intense interest from the Saudi Arabian game with a sufficient bid not coming in time for a deal to be considered.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was recently quizzed on the situation that faced the clubs over the summer months, revealing that not only did he not want the Brazilian stopper to depart, but that a sufficient bid also never arrived.
“He knew from day one that I didn’t want it, we didn’t want it,” Guardiola told reporters during a recent press conference. “But the truth, I’m going to tell you; the truth is that the offer didn’t come. The real offer.”
He continued, “Because they made an offer but to be, for the keeper, for the team who won four Premier Leagues in a row, has a value, a price. Otherwise he cannot leave! But if the offer can be gone, maybe he should not be here. This is the truth.”
But with Ederson remaining as Manchester City’s number one choice goalkeeper for another season, Stefan Ortega Moreno has been largely shut out of the picture and remains the club’s back-up choice and cup competition starter.
And that may cause problems for the Premier League champions, as the former Arminia Bielefeld man continues to hold major ambitions over his status within the game and within the German national team in particular.
Speaking as part of Fabrizio Romano’s Daily Briefing, BILD reporter Christian Falk has revealed what the future could hold for Ortega Moreno at Manchester City, having failed to displace Ederson as the club’s number one goalkeeper this season.
“There’s a big chance for Stefan Ortega to seize the No.1 shirt at Germany. He’s not in the squad at the moment, but Marc-André ter Stegen is injured and no-one quite knows when he’ll be back,” Falk said.
“Nonetheless, Ortega would love to take the chance to become Germany’s No.1. Of course, you can’t be a nation’s No.1 if you’re the No.2 at your club. If Manchester City doesn’t show him that he can be the No.1 next season, he will try to move in the winter or next summer.”
On the situation from the last summer transfer window, Falk reveals that Manchester City were ready to promote Ortega into the number one role at the club had Ederson left for Saudi Arabia, with a new name identified for the back-up position.
“Ortega was already thinking about the No.1 role at City last summer amid the rumours around Ederson’s future,” Falk continued. “He was upset that it didn’t work out.”
“The fact that City were ready to bring another German goalkeeper Michael Zetterer (Werder Bremen) on board to be the club’s No.2, if Ederson had left – the shotstopper had a release clause in his contract last summer that was specifically for Manchester City – shows how close an exit came for the Brazil international in the prior window.”
Pep Guardiola continues to hold Stefan Ortega highly in his estimations, and views the German stopper as one of the very best he has seen within the game when it comes to one-vs-one situations.
Many City fans will likely agree with that statement, having particularly noticed such abilities in the club’s run-in towards a fourth consecutive Premier League crown last season, when Ortega denied Tottenham’s Heung-min Son in North London in that exact scenario.