Xavi Hernandez has hinted at strengthening the goalkeeper department ahead of next season.
The Barcelona head coach has managed to help a number of key players to improve since his arrival towards the back-end of last year.
The process has been far from an instant one, with Xavi struggling early on, but Barca now have wind in their sails, and having climbed to third place in the La Liga table, they are certainly trending in the right direction.
One player who has continued to struggle, however, is goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who has come in for intense criticism on the back of his performances.
He was again criticised over the weekend after showing a little too much to Fidel for Elche’s goal.
Barca went on to win the game, but question marks keep popping up over ter Stegen, and one of the big concerns amid his lack of form is that he is all-but guaranteed to start regardless.
Neto is not going to be a starter, and even wants to move on in the summer, and that only leaves one choice.
Xavi was asked about the possibility of adding competition to the position in the summer ahead of Barca’s Europa League clash with Galatasaray on Thursday night, and he seemed to hint heavily towards planning to do so.
“Everyone needs more competition,” he admitted. “When you have one by your side who squeezes you, you perform better.
“When you see that there is another who is doing well, you tell yourself, what do I need to improve.
“This is about performance, about state of mind, physique… everyone would do well in competition. It’s always welcome.”
