Barcelona captain Marc-Andre Ter Stegen is very close to his return from surgery and the player is expected to return at the end of next month, if not early 2026.
However, his return to fitness is unlikely to change anything in Hansi Flick's hierarchy, with the manager expected to continue to favor Joan Garcia and Wojciech Szczesny as his preferred options in goal.
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The Catalans' idea for a long time has been to allow the captain to leave in January and thereby free up space on the wage bill.
Although Ter Stegen was initially reluctant, he now appears to have come to terms with reality and understands that he needs regular minutes to make the case for the World Cup.
Moving away from great hope
In recent weeks Besiktas appeared as a strong candidate to sign the Barcelona veteran, given that they need a new high-level goalkeeper to save the season.
According to SPORT However, a recent report suggests that this is now changing.
Besiktas have shown interest in Ter Stegen. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)
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Besiktas have other priorities for the upcoming winter transfer window and are eyeing the signing of Niklas Fullkrug as a new striker.
A goalkeeper is also on the agenda, but it remains unclear whether it would be in their best interests to take a high-earning player on a short-term loan.
As such, Manchester City's Stefan Ortega has emerged as a strong target for the Turkish club in recent days, thereby ruling out Ter Stegen from a potential loan move.
After all, Ortega's contract expires this summer and Besiktas could thus sign him permanently for a lucrative fee.
As things stand, hopes are not lost for Ter Stegen's potential move to Besiktas, but the prospects don't look very bright.
Therefore, finding another suitor who urgently needs a quality goalkeeper will be a priority for Barcelona.
