Premier League hegemonic manager Pep Guardiola has weighed in by giving his full support for backup keeper Stefan Ortega after German giants Bayern Munich have been credited with interest this summer in the wake of growing goalkeeping concerns at Säbener Straße.
Per Fabrizio Romano, Guardiola has ruled out the possibility of allowing Ortega to return to Germany and head off to Bavaria to join up with Thomas Tuchel’s Bayern after the club has been in the midst of growing concerns surrounding Manuel Neuer’s recovery, as well as backup Yann Sommer opting to join Inter Milan.
Bayern want Stefan Ortega, Guardiola: “We don’t want to sell him and we don’t want to loan him. I’m sorry, but we want him for long time”. 🔵 #MCFC
“It always depends on three parties yes but we’d have to go back on market to find a replacement in two weeks… we want Ortega”. pic.twitter.com/F08jVCGzFU
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 15, 2023
“We don’t want to sell him and we don’t want to loan him. I’m sorry, but we want him for a long time. It always depends on three parties yes but we’d have to go back on the market to find a replacement in two weeks…we want Ortega”
Ortega, who made fourteen appearances in his first season at City on his way to securing a treble with Guardiola’s outfit in a debut campaign straight out of some sort of fantasy world, is one of the more gifted backup keepers arguably anywhere in Europe.
The 30-year-old German-born shot-stopper has been a credible backup to Ederson since his arrival at The Etihad after being a standout performer for Arminia Bielefeld across five Bundesliga seasons, after leaving the club three years prior to enjoy a stint with fallen domestic giant 1860 München.
After missing out on Arsenal-bound David Raya this summer, Bayern remains on the hunt and under pressure to secure a keeper after concerns surrounding Neuer have reached critical mass, after not only watching Sommer depart but Alexander Nübel also leaving to VfB Stuttgart, leaving just long-time veteran deputy Sven Ulreich, who is out of contract at the end of the upcoming 2023-24 season, the only available option at the time of writing.
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