AS.com

Barcelona are starting to realise they face a long and arduous process in extending Víctor Valdés's contract. On Friday the goalkeeper and his agent Ginés Carvajal contradicted earlier comments made by Barça's director of football Andoni Zubizarreta, who had said that talks about a new deal were on track.

This was interpreted by Barcelona as a sign that it will not be easy to tie the player down to a new contract.

The war has begun and the Catalan press has already began speculating about possible replacements for Valdés. Four names have arisen: Manchester United's David de Gea, Valencia's Vicente Guaita, Borussia Mönchengladbach stopper Mark-Andre ter Stegen and Holland and Roma goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg.

Barcelona do not just seek a great shot stopper, they want a goalkeeper with good footwork who can contribute to the team's play and help them bring the ball out from the back, like Valdés.