It is a well-known fact that Barcelona are willing to revamp their squad entirely with the club looking to bring in a host of new players. However, one would not have imagined the Catalans to move for a new goalkeeper with the goalkeeping position seeming strong for them.
Now A Bola reports that Barcelona are genuinely interested in bringing in Sporting CP shot-stopper Luis Maximiano from Portugal. The Portuguese outlet further says that AC Milan are also interested in the player. Though the Catalans have every intention of acquiring the services of the player, no contact has been made with the club regarding the same.
Who is Luis Maximiano?
Maximiano joined Sporting CP as a youth player in 2012, when he was just 13 years old. Since then, he has played at different youth levels for the club, finally getting a place in the reserve side. In 2018, he was called into the first team, although as a backup goalkeeper. Things soon improved for Maximiano and in September last year, he made his debut for the side in cup competitions. Gradually he has pushed his way into the playing eleven, ahead of Brazilian Renan Ribeiro.
This season, he has played in 15 league matches for the side, thus establishing his authority under the sticks. The 21-year-old also has European experience as he has featured in four games for his side in Europa League. Considering this is his first big season for his team, Maximiano has already bagged 1703 minutes of competitive football across different competitions. The youngster has also plied his trade at various youth levels for Portugal and recently has made his debut for the Portugal U-21.
All these go on to show that Maximiano is one of the most talented young goalkeepers in Portugal at the moment and thus has attracted attention from some of Europe’s biggest clubs. Many believe that his capability to save close range shots are among the best that they have seen and he would go on to serve his national side for a long time to come.
What would be his role at Barcelona?
This is where the surprise lies as the report says that the Catalan club is thinking of bringing him to the side, not to strengthen their squad but for giving competition to their current number one Marc-André ter Stegen. The German keeper, after getting past his initial jitters, has done exceedingly well for the club. He has made the position his own, and this term has appeared in 35 matches for the Cules across all competitions. Apart from him, Barcelona also have Brazilian Neto who joined the side last summer. The 30-year-old is also an astute keeper and has done his job decently when called upon to do so.
With two able goalkeepers in the side, many would feel that spending aggressively on a player who would be a backup shot-stopper at this moment would be unnecessary. The club have other areas which need reinforcements and a keeper should not be a priority for now. However, considering all these, even a mere interest by the Blaugrana to bring the goalkeeper to Camp Nou shows just how highly they think of him.
