Barcelona will have to fork out €43.5 million for goalkeeping target, Man City also keen | OneFootball

Following Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s season-ending knee injury, Barcelona roped in Wojciech Szczesny as an emergency replacement until the end of the season.

However, at the same time, Barça sporting director Deco has already begun the search for a long-term replacement for the German veteran shot-stopper for the summer of 2025.

To that end, the name of FC Porto and Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa has emerged on the radars of the current La Liga leaders.

Porto seek €43.5 million

Now, according to AS, FC Porto are seeking a transfer fee of around €43.5 million for Costa, who is not only on the radars of FC Barcelona, but also Manchester City.

The 25-year-old has a contract with the Portuguese heavyweights that runs until the summer of 2027, which contains a mammoth €75 million release clause as well.

However, it appears that Porto would be willing to accept a sum lower than that figure, with a fee of around €43.5 million being talked about.

Diogo Costa on Barcelona’s radar. (Photo by Euan Cherry/Getty Images)

Whether Barcelona would be prepared to shell out that amount to sign Costa from Porto in the summer remains to be seen.

The presence of Manchester City in the race further complicates the matter for the Blaugrana, though, as the Premier League champions will have no problem matching the figure that Porto are demanding.

Furthermore, the Cityzens will be in a position to offer Costa a much more lucrative contract as well, making things tricky for Barcelona.

As has already been reported in the past, Barça could have signed the 25-year-old back in 2022 for as little as €15 million when Jorge Mendes offered him to the club.

Having let go of that chance, Barcelona will now face a battle to sign Costa.