Chelsea Tried to Convince Marc-André ter Stegen to Snub Barcelona Renewal

Chelsea are one of several sides who reached out to Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen in an attempt to convince him to reject talks over a new contract.

The German's current deal expires in 2022 and talks over a renewal have dragged on for some time now, although an agreement is understood to have finally been reached and is now simply a matter of waiting for a formal announcement.

According to Mundo Deportivo, Ter Stegen has always been focused on getting a deal over the line at Camp Nou, but he had plenty of sides reach out in an attempt to convince him to let his contract wind down.

Chelsea were one such side, with Frank Lampard looking for a replacement for Kepa Arrizabalaga. Ter Stegen was often mentioned alongside Atlético Madrid's Jan Oblak as potential targets for the Blues early in the summer, but their £250m spending spree meant Chelsea had to settle for a £22m move for Édouard Mendy instead.

Juventus are also said to have reached out, despite only tying current first-choice goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny down to a new four-year contract, and there was even serious interest from Serie A rivals Inter.

Antonio Conte is on the lookout for an eventual replacement for 36-year-old Samir Handanović and had hoped to get a cut-price move for Ter Stegen over the line next summer, but the German simply wasn't interested.

His focus is firmly on Barcelona and Ter Stegen is believed to be completely relaxed after all but agreeing an extension until 2025.

There may be a bit of a delay until the announcement, however, with both Barcelona and Ter Stegen looking for the right time amid all the chaos that has descended upon Camp Nou in the last few months.

The vote of no confidence against president Josep Maria Bartomeu, and the subsequent investigation into an alleged fraud in the vote, has Barça somewhat preoccupied at the minute, but there seems to be no doubt that Ter Stegen's future is in Barcelona.

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