Deco talks Joan Garcia, Ter Stegen, Cancelo: ‘He’ll be flying to Barcelona soon’ | OneFootball

The past few days have been quite hectic for FC Barcelona director Deco as he has had to act quickly to close an agreement to sign Joao Cancelo from Al Hilal.

Despite initial reservations about the deal, the Blaugrana have decided to go ahead with his acquisition on loan, with an agreement being reached.

Deco on Cancelo deal

An official announcement of the operation is expected to arrive later this week, with Barcelona director Deco confirming as much ahead of the team’s Spanish Super Cup semi-final vs Athletic Club.

“Hopefully so. We’re finalising the process. He hasn’t done his medical tests yet, but he’ll be flying to Barcelona soon. We’re going to close the deal,” Deco said, as quoted by Mundo Deportivo.

Cancelo will be joining on a simple loan deal until the end of the season, although the right-back is hopeful of staying for longer.

Deco comments on Ter Stegen

Meanwhile, Barcelona saw Marc-Andre ter Stegen leave their camp in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday after suffering a knee injury in training.

The 33-year-old goalkeeper was ruled out of the Spanish Super Cup and flew back to Barcelona for medical examinations, with Diego Kochen being flown in as a replacement earlier today.

Since then, it has emerged that the goalkeeper’s problem is nothing serious, although an official update is still awaited.

Ter Stegen’s injury not serious. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

And Deco has provided an update on the condition of Ter Stegen, saying:

“Ter Stegen is fine. He had a bad feeling in his knee, and of course, when a player comes back from an injury, he’s always a little more worried, because he’s had problems with that knee in the past.”

“Now he’s calm and we’re happy because it’s nothing serious,” he added.

Regarding Ter Stegen’s future and whether the injury complicates chances of a loan exit this month, Deco replied:

 “There’s nothing to talk about regarding the future. Marc is our player; he came here to be just another member of the team, and this happened, and that’s it.

“We and he decided that he should fly to Barcelona to see the doctor who operated on him. Thankfully, nothing serious came up, and the plan is normal; he’s our player.” 

Deco also spoke about Joan Garcia and his form, as well as the fact that he was not being considered for a Spain call-up.

“We’re happy when players go to the national team. It’s fantastic for any player. We’re happy with Joan; he’s a goalkeeper who’s giving us a lot. He’s a great guy and has contributed to the team’s atmosphere,” he said.

“What matters is that he’s happy at Barça and playing well. The national team situation isn’t up to us.”