The FC Barcelona, despite Iñaki Peña gradually gaining more confidence in goal, as seen in his performance against Real Madrid in the Clásico, where he made some truly stellar saves, it doesn't seem to be just an isolated idea that the Blaugrana team is considering monitoring different alternatives to reinforce the goalkeeping position. The option of incorporating a young goalkeeper with experience and great potential, who can assume the starting role in the Barcelona goal in the future as a successor to Marc-André ter Stegen, is being contemplated.
In this regard, one of the names that has been strongly rumored in recent days, especially due to the long-term injury of Marc-André ter Stegen, is that of the 25-year-old Portuguese goalkeeper, Diogo Costa. The Rothrist native has proven to be a solid goalkeeper at Porto and in the Portuguese national team, so it wouldn't be surprising to consider his incorporation to strengthen the goalkeeping position in the short and medium term.
However, Barcelona must consider that the acquisition of Diogo Costa will not be a simple transaction. Although the Portuguese goalkeeper is represented by Jorge Mendes, who also represents other Barcelona players like Ansu Fati and Lamine Yamal, and seems to have a good relationship with Deco, the club's sporting director, and with Joan Laporta, the club's president, Porto will surely demand a considerable sum for him, given his value and the fact that his contract doesn't expire until 2027, which gives the 'Dragons' a strong position in negotiations.
The price at which Porto would let go of Diogo Costa
Now, initially, the release clause for Diogo Costa is €75 million, a difficult amount for Barcelona to assume. However, the sports newspaper 'SPORT' recently revealed that Porto might be willing to negotiate for a considerably lower amount, possibly around €45 million, which would represent a significant discount from his release clause.
Therefore, Barcelona will have to consider whether they ultimately decide to make an offer for Diogo Costa at a price close to the mentioned figure, especially considering that Manchester City, the current Premier League champions, are also interested in the Portuguese goalkeeper as a possible successor to Ederson Moraes. Given the economic power and attractive sports project of the 'Sky Blue' team, Barcelona will need to act quickly to not miss the opportunity to strengthen their goalkeeping position with one of the top 'keepers available in the international sports landscape.