Barcelona see 18-year-old La Masia starlet as a future first-team starter | OneFootball

Barcelona have the first-team goalkeeping position sorted for the foreseeable future, with Marc-Andre ter Stegen being the undisputed starter and Inaki Pena acting as his understudy.

Ter Stegen signed a new contract until 2028 last year and Pena, too, is expected to continue at the club despite there being some speculations over his future.

Beyond the established pair of shot-stoppers, Barça have a few exciting options coming through the ranks in the form of Diego Kochen and Ander Astralaga.

Diego Kochen seen as the one with most potential

In fact, as per Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona see Diego Kochen as the goalkeeping prospect with the most potential and believe that the 18-year-old can be a future first-team starter.

The 18-year-old American goalkeeper, who is under contract until 2028, is regarded as the club’s most promising goalkeeper, but the first-team management intends to see more of him in action.

The future of Barcelona’s goalkeeping department. (Photo by PAU BARRENA/AFP via Getty Images)

Kochen, who joined the Barça youth setup in 2019, trained regularly with the senior team last season under Xavi Hernandez.

Moving forward, the sporting management considers that it is time to see him more in action in first-team training and friendlies, and also in official matches of Barça Atletic in Primera RFEF.

The American shot-stopper has played only once for the reserve team thus far and ended up conceding four goals. Now, the plan could be for him to alternate in the Barça Atletic starting line-up with Ander Astralaga.

Kochen still has four years left on his contract and the Barcelona sporting department will monitor his development closely to see whether the 18-year-old could be in a position to succeed Ter Stegen in the future.