Barcelona Transfer News: Goalkeeper set to leave permanently after Copa Del Rey Final
The 2018-19 season has nearly entered its penultimate month with only a handful of games remaining between now and the end of the season. Inevitably, the business end of the term also brings with itself a plethora of transfer news and rumours. While certain players are being slated to join new clubs, others are being reported to pursue newer pastures.
As per Spanish outlet, AS, one of Barcelona’s premier cup players is packing his bags for an adventure away from the Nou Camp. Jasper Cillessen, the Dutch shot-stopper who Barcelona signed in 2016 looks primed to leave the club after the culmination of the current season.
Cillessen, who was signed as a back-up for Marc-Andre ter Stegen, boasts of excellent reflexes and is adept at playing the ball out from the back. At his previous club, Ajax, the goalkeeper made his name with a string of impressive displays. He was also a part of the Dutch side that stunned everyone en route to a semi-final appearance at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The aforementioned stupendous displays caught the eye of plenty of clubs across Europe including Barcelona and the Spanish club eventually snapped him up.
Yet, the supernatural displays of Ter Stegen consigned Cillessen to the bench in the La Liga more often than not.
In his time at the Camp Nou, the Dutchman has made 27 appearances and kept 12 clean sheets. However, in the 2018-19 season, his meagre total of 7 games so far seems to have been the final straw.
However, the Dutchman did garner plenty of honours during his spell having won the La Liga in 2017-18 and the Copa Del Rey in 2016-17 and 2017-18. Additionally, he also laid his hands on the Spanish Super Cup at the start of the 2018-19 season.
With the goalkeeper seeking a move elsewhere, the club is not expected to stand in his way for a transfer with the former having shown excellent commitment and professionalism during his stint.
Though an agreement with another club has yet to come to light, that contract seems only a matter of when rather than if.