Antonio Conte requests Tottenham to sign 30-year-old Barcelona star on ‘priority’: Reports

Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte has requested that the Premier League club sign Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen as a priority.

French outlet Jeunes Footeux reports that Spurs are looking to replace current club captain Hugo Lloris, who enters the final year of his contract in 2023.

Conte has requested Ter Stegen to be the replacement for Lloris and he wants the signing to be a priority.

The German joined Barcelona from Borussia Monchengladbach for £10.8 million in 2014 and has made 336 appearances for the Blaugrana.

Ter Stegen has kept 135 clean sheets in those games and has been praised for his shot-stopping abilities over the years.

His performances did draw the ire of fans last season, but he has impressed at the start of the new campaign.

He has made nine appearances in all competitions, keeping six clean sheets.

Ter Stegen's manager Xavi Hernandez backed the goalkeeper at the start of the season, saying:

"He has started very well this year. He has had a vacation that he needed. He knows what he had failed to do last year, he is very self-demanding and he has worked with De la Fuente, the goalkeeping coach. I have no doubts about him, leader and this year he is excellent. He has been very good in these first three days.”

The 2022/2023 season brought us a totally revitalized Ter Stegen. https://t.co/Pwq4I3I1BO

With three years left on his contract, Barcelona seem unlikely to be open to offloading the German.

However, if he does arrive in London, he will be replacing Lloris, who has been a mainstay in the north London side.

The French shot-stopper arrived at Spurs from Olympique Lyonnais in 2012 for £11.3 million.

Lloris has made 426 appearances for Tottenham and was made captain in 2015.

He signed a new contract extension in January but Spurs may be seeking a long-term replacement with the Frenchman now aged 35.

"There are always things to improve on" - Ter Stegen sets new record for Barcelona

With Barcelona beating Mallorca 1-0 on Saturday, 1 October, Ter Stegen set a new record of 500 minutes without conceding a goal.

Despite this, the German isn't seeking personal glory but rather wants the team to succeed.

He touched on the personal achievement, following the victory over Los Piratas (via BarcaBlaugranes):

“The victory is more important than the record. And even more so in this type of match. There are always things to improve on a personal and collective level."

He added:

“I am doing everything possible to prepare myself as well as possible for the matches and it shows.”

🚨 𝙉𝙀𝙒 𝙋𝙀𝙍𝙎𝙊𝙉𝘼𝙇 𝙍𝙀𝘾𝙊𝙍𝘿 !! Marc ter Stegen has just surpassed his previous best of 500 minutes without conceding! Congratulations, @mterstegen1! Keep going!👏👏👏👏👏 https://t.co/uwwaojkDvz

Next up for Barcelona is a trip to the San Siro to face Inter Milan in the Champions League on 4 October.