Joe Hart will be under immediate pressure to keep his first-team place at Manchester City under Pep Guardiola with German goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen now expected to join this month.

Guardiola has managed to prise ter Stegen away from Barcelona, where he plays in all cup competitions but not often in La Liga, as one of Guardiola's former clubs are now confident of signing former Liverpool 'keeper Pepe Reina as his replacement.

That means Barca can now afford to let ter Stegen go, though City will have to negotiate a fee which could rise to £15 million as his official buy-out clause is almost £70million.

Barcelona keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, pictured playing against City in 2015, is set to arrive at the Etihad

The German will compete with England stopper Joe Hart for the No 1 jersey under Pep Guardiola

Guardiola could raid his former club in order to improve his goalkeeping options ahead of the new season

TER STEGEN IN NUMBERS Borussia Monchengladbach (2012-13): 34 appearances - 9 clean sheets Borussia Monchengladbach (2013-14): 17 appearances - 3 clean sheets Barcelona (2014-15): 13 appearances - 6 clean sheets Barcelona (2015-16): 17 appearances - 5 clean sheets *statistics are from the Bundesliga, La Liga and the Champions League only* Advertisement

Reina's move from Napoli to Barca may take some time to negotiate which would slow ter Stegen's move to City but negotiations are underway and in principal Barcelona have agreed to the fundamentals of the deal.

The 24-year old German goalkeeper will prove a formidable rival to the England No1, who is coming off the back of a terrible Euro 2016 and whose England place will also be under threat when Jack Butland returns to fitness.

Guardiola is understood to appreciate the important of having an Englishman with such a strong personality in the side and City also need English-qualified players for their squad under UEFA and Premier League rules

But ter Stegen will not expect to play in the reserves as he comes into the peak of his career, having kept goal in the Champions League final, which Barca won in 2015 and having twice in the Copa del Rey final, both of which Barca also won.

Guardiola is clearly willing to consider his choices in net ahead of his debut season as City manager.

'At the moment, there's no doubt about that,' responded Guardiola when asked about Hart being selected in his team next season. 'He's No 1. But we're always looking for the best option to create a better team.

'At the moment, though, I'm not concerned about that. I don't worry about that – the performance of Joe Hart in the Euros.

'It's important to know what is their quality - to analyse their quality and to decide what we are going to do with him.'