Ajax Protects ter Stegen as Klopp Eyes Germany's New No 1

Marc-André ter Stegen is hurt, and Ajax are not willing to gamble.

Ajax Amsterdam coach Míchel confirmed that his veteran goalkeeper is carrying an injury and has been deliberately left out of Tuesday night’s league match against Willem II Tilburg. The decision is not about form. It is about protecting a body that has already been through too much.

“Marc is recovering from a serious injury,” Míchel explained, outlining why ter Stegen was nowhere near the squad. With an international break looming, Ajax see a window they cannot waste.

The plan is clear. Maarten Paes steps in now so ter Stegen can step back later at full strength.

Míchel called “the current moment favourable” to give Paes minutes and allow his No 1 “to properly recover for the game on Saturday as well as the subsequent international break”. Ajax are managing not just this week, but the next month.

There is another layer to it. The national team.

“Should ter Stegen travel to the national team – which is likely – we will then have time to continue working on his recovery,” Míchel added. Club and country are about to share the same dilemma: how hard can you push a 34-year-old goalkeeper who has already spent years waiting in line?

In Germany, the debate around the goal is shifting. According to media reports, new national coach Jürgen Klopp is planning with ter Stegen as his future No 1. The “eternal crown prince” to Manuel Neuer is finally in line for the throne.

He had already been handed that status under Klopp’s predecessor Julian Nagelsmann, after Neuer’s retirement from international duty following Euro 2024. That changing of the guard was supposed to be permanent. Then came a string of injuries that dragged ter Stegen back to the treatment room and reopened the door for others.

His last appearance for Germany feels distant now: 8 June 2025, a Nations League match against France in Stuttgart, a 0–2 defeat. No glory, no trophy lift. Just another marker in a stop-start international career.

The stage for his comeback could hardly be more symbolic. For Klopp’s debut in the Germany dugout, the team travel to Amsterdam to face the Netherlands in the Nations League on 24 September. For ter Stegen, who plays his club football in the city, it would be a home game in all but name.

Germany’s schedule in that window is intense: Netherlands on 24 September, Greece on 27 September, Serbia on 1 October, then Greece again on 4 October. Four matches, one new era, and a goalkeeper pecking order that could be reshaped in real time.

Klopp will announce his squad on Thursday at 10am. Expect numbers. Expect competition.

Alexander Nübel of Besiktas and Bayern Munich’s Jonas Urbig are seen as ter Stegen’s main challengers, the next wave pushing from behind. Augsburg’s Finn Dahmen is also tipped to be involved.

Manuel Neuer will not be there. His international retirement is now definitive. Previous No 2 Oliver Baumann is not expected either.

So the picture is stark. Ajax are nursing ter Stegen through another delicate spell, trying to have him ready for Saturday and then for a defining international window. Germany, under a new coach, are preparing to hand him the shirt he has chased for more than a decade.

This time, does he finally get to keep it?