Manchester City sign goalkeeper Stefan Ortega on free transfer

, a goalkeeper from Germany, has joined

as a free agent. He will back up

Ederson

, the team's main goalkeeper.

The 29-year-old left Bundesliga team

Arminia Bielefeld

, which was relegated, and signed a three-year deal with Premier League champions Manchester City.

The current No. 2,

Zack Steffen

, is likely to leave on loan this summer. As a US international, he wants to get more playing time before the World Cup in Qatar. The German started all but one of Bielefeld's Bundesliga games last season (because of coronavirus), and he got better, even though his team came in second-to-last.

He is good with the ball at his feet and was on standby for Germany's Euro 2020 team. He has also been talked about as a possible back-up to Manuel Neuer at Bayern Munich. Txiki Begiristain, who is in charge of football, said: "He's coming to compete with the other goalkeepers and help our young players, so we're very happy to have signed him.

Pep Guardiola will let him play in domestic cup competitions, and he will also be Ederson's backup.

"It's a dream come true to be able to join this group of players and help keep the club's success going," "Ortega said. The USMNT international is likely to join Middlesbrough on loan for a season to help his chances of making the World Cup.

Before Qatar 2022, he is competing with Matt Turner, who just joined Arsenal. Coach Gregg Berhalter hasn't said yet which goalkeeper he will pick for the first game against Wales.

The 27-year-old, who is under contract until 2025, has been Ederson's backup since 2020, when he returned from a loan to Fortuna Dusseldorf in Germany. He got a lot of bad press after making a mistake in the FA Cup semi-final loss to Liverpool that let Sadio Mane score.

Boro came close to making the promotion play-offs last season, but they didn't make it. Coach Chris Wilder plans to change up his team. Gavin Bazunu, an Irish player, was recently sold by Man City to Southampton for £12m ($14.6m), even though he had spent the last two years on loan in League One and never played for the club.

Scott Carson, the team's third-choice goalkeeper, has signed a new 12-month deal, and James Trafford, an England U-21 player, has joined League One team Bolton Wanderers on a season-long loan. Ari Muric, a player from Kosovo, is also likely to leave the club in the summer, either on loan or for good.

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