Ajax Protects Ter Stegen as Germany's Goalkeeper Shake-Up Looms

Ajax Amsterdam are taking no risks with Marc-André ter Stegen as the goalkeeper battles back from a serious injury – even with a crucial international window looming and a changing of the guard in the Germany goal on the horizon.

Coach Míchel left the 34-year-old out of Tuesday night’s league game against Willem II Tilburg and made it clear the decision was strategic, not tactical.

“Marc is recovering from a serious injury,” he said, explaining why understudy Maarten Paes was handed the start. With an international break around the corner, Ajax see this as the ideal window to manage their No 1’s workload.

The idea is simple: rest now, reap the benefits later.

Míchel called the current moment “favourable” for giving Paes minutes so ter Stegen “can properly recover for the game on Saturday as well as the subsequent international break”. The plan even factors in Germany duty.

“Should ter Stegen travel to the national team – which is likely – we will then have time to continue working on his recovery,” the Ajax coach added.

Klopp’s new No 1 in waiting

Back in Germany, Jürgen Klopp is already plotting with ter Stegen as his future first-choice goalkeeper. The Barcelona legend has long lived in the shadow of Manuel Neuer, tagged for years as the “eternal crown prince”, but the landscape has shifted.

Media reports in Germany say Klopp intends to build around ter Stegen after Neuer’s definitive retirement from the national team following Euro 2024. Under Klopp’s predecessor Julian Nagelsmann, ter Stegen had already moved into the No 1 role when Neuer initially stepped away, only for injuries to derail that ascent.

His last appearance for Germany came on 8 June 2025, a 2-0 Nations League defeat to France in Stuttgart. Since then, setbacks have kept him out of the spotlight. Now the door is open again.

A homecoming in Amsterdam

For Klopp’s debut in the Germany dugout, the national team travel to Amsterdam to face the Netherlands in the Nations League on 24 September. For ter Stegen, currently playing his club football in the city with Ajax, it would feel like a home game in every sense.

Germany’s schedule in that window is packed: Netherlands on 24 September, Greece on 27 September, Serbia on 1 October, then Greece again on 4 October. Klopp will announce his squad on Thursday at 10am – and all eyes will be on the goalkeepers’ list.

A crowded queue behind ter Stegen

Expect numbers. A large squad is anticipated, and the competition behind ter Stegen is already lining up.

• Alexander Nübel, now at Besiktas, and Jonas Urbig of Bayern Munich are viewed as the primary challengers.
• Augsburg’s Finn Dahmen is also expected to be called up as part of the new hierarchy.

There will be notable absentees. Neuer, the benchmark for a generation, has now definitively closed the chapter on his Germany career. Previous No 2 Oliver Baumann is also not expected to feature in Klopp’s plans.

So the picture is clear. Ajax are wrapping ter Stegen in cotton wool, Germany are preparing to hand him the gloves, and a new era in the national team’s goal is about to begin – if his body finally lets him claim the throne that has waited for him for so long.