A surprise transfer story involving Manchester City emerged on Thursday morning
Through reports originally from Germany, the Premier League champions are claimed to be on the verge of signing Bundesliga goalkeeper Stefan Ortega as the new second-choice goalkeeper behind Ederson.
Additional revelations concerning the deal had also suggested that the Arminia Bielefeld goalkeeper rejected other offers from Spain and Germany in favour of a move to Pep Guardiola’s side.
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As Manchester City fans anticipate the German’s arrival, it has also been speculated that the switch could be finalised at the end of the week.
An additional bonus behind the signing of the experienced shotstopper is that his current deal ends in the summer, which means the Sky Blues could sign the player on a free transfer.
Ultimately, the coup of Stefan Ortega may spell the end of Zack Steffen’s time at the Etihad Stadium, as the 27-year old is unlikely to continue his stay at the club as a number three option, considering a starting spot in between the sticks for the USA national team is still up for grabs in Qatar.
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While a host of the club’s fans have wondered why the Premier League champions are so keen on the arrival of a relatively unknown commodity, some statistics related to his displays from last term that make for pretty reading.
Ranked 1st in the Bundesliga: 125 saves
Ranked 2nd in the Bundesliga: 73.3% save percentage
Ranked 2nd in the Bundesliga: 5.61 goals prevented (via xG)
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Ranked 1st in the Bundesliga: 1,674 passes (69% success rate)
First things first, it is intriguing how Stefan Ortega managed to play such a high volume of passes last term for a side that eventually suffered relegation at the end of the season.
Interestingly, achieving a pass success rate of 69% for a team languishing at the very bottom of the Bundesliga indicates that if he operated at a higher level, the 29-year old’s numbers could see a massive leap.
As Ortega fits the fundamental requirement of being comfortable with his feet as a potential goalkeeper in a Pep Guardiola side, his shotstopping statistics are proof that the highly-rated operator is also very much a traditional high-quality goalkeeper.
While his numbers have been boosted by Arminia Bielefeld facing a ton of shots across the course of a season, it is also mightily commendable how his save percentage registered last season ranks as high as second throughout the entire German top-flight.
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Aside from Borussia Monchengladach’s Yan Sommer, even elite number ones such as Manuel Neuer sit behind Stefan Ortega in terms of this metric, which is testament to how incredible he was in between the sticks in the previous campaign.
It seems as if Manchester City’s scouting team may have discovered yet another gem as the well-rounded Stefan Ortega could prove to be an excellent number two behind Ederson in the upcoming campaign.
Apart from their focus on signing the highly-rated goalkeeper, the club seem focused on wrapping up deals for Marc Cucurella and Kalvin Phillips, as Gabriel Jesus, Raheem Sterling and Oleksandr Zinchenko could be headed for the exit door this summer.
Featured Image Credit: dpa picture alliance / AlamyTopics: Stefan Ortega, Manchester City, Manchester City Transfer News & Rumours, Premier League, Bundesliga, Football, Transfers