Former Real's custodian close to joining Barca?

Barcelona received a massive blow on Sunday after their goalkeeper and captain, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, suffered a severe knee injury, which would separate him from the pitch for approximately 7-8 months. Considering Barca's title race in Spain and participation in the Champions League - where Blaugrana lost the opening game 2-1 to Monaco - the team needs "safe hands" between the posts and solidity in goal.

Awful news for Barca fans! Club reveals the longevity of Ter Stegen's absence

Hansi Flick currently has three keepers at his disposal, but those custodians are 63 years old combined. Ter Stegen's understudy is the 25-year-old Inaki Pena, who mainly played for Barcelona B, but still made 23 appearances for the first team. Last season, he played ten games and kept two clean sheets. Apart from him, there are goalies from the reserve team and youth academy - Ander Astralaga and Diego Kochen, who are 20 and 18, respectively. Bearing in mind the challenges awaiting Barca - not too adequate options.

Given that the transfer window has ended, the La Liga side has turned to free agents as options for Ter Stegen's replacement. Among numerous names, one particularly stands out - the former Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas. The Costa Rican's contract with Paris Saint-Germain expired in July and he's been without club since. He made his last appearance on May 19 in PSG's 2-0 victory over Metz.

Aged 37 (in December turns 38), he would undoubtedly bring Barcelona experience Pena, Astralaga, and Kochen cannot provide. In addition, he's performed at the biggest stages, won three Champions Leagues and a La Liga trophy with Real Madrid, three Ligue 1 titles with the Saints, and wore Costa Rica's jersey at three FIFA World Cups. The fact that he played for the Catalans' fiercest rivals could represent an obstacle but according to sources so far neither the custodian nor Barca have anything against the eventual deal.

If Navas joined Flick's crew, he would become the 17th player in history to play for both Real and Barcelona. Some of the most renowned names among them are Samuel Eto'o, Ronaldo Nazario, Luis Figo (who moved straight from Camp Nou to Santiago Bernabeu), Javier Saviola, and current Paris Saint-Germain manager Luis Enrique.