FC Barcelona's decision with Iñaki Peña after the signing of Wojciech Szczesny

Published:25/09/2024 - 19:24h

Updated:28/09/2024 - 17:25h

Iñaki Peña's position is not, a priori, at risk. Although Barça have already closed the signing of Wojciech Szczesny, the Barça '13' would continue to be the owner of the goal for Hansi Flick's team

It's been three days since the extent of Marc-André Ter Stegen's serious injury became known and FC Barcelona have already closed the signing of a goalkeeper to cover the German's absence. After debating whether to go to the free agent market or wait for the winter window, the Catalans decided to bring in a reinforcement immediately and the chosen one is Wojciech Szczesny, who comes out of retirement and will sign, in principle, for one season with the Blaugrana club.

The arrival of the Pole set off 'alarms' around Iñaki Peña, whose place in the starting eleven could have been threatened after the incorporation of the Warsaw native. However, the Alicante native has not echoed the rumours and remains calm, since the club has already informed him that, while Ter Stegen remains injured, he will be the starting goalkeeper.

This has been reported by 'SPORT', where they assure that it was Deco himself who has contacted his entourage to tell them that the plan is the same as at the beginning of the season and if any problem occurred with Marc-André, Iñaki would be in charge of protecting the Barça goal.

For his part, Peña has not been fazed by the arrival of an experienced player like Szczesny, since he understands that the loss of 'MATS' is a serious setback for the team, so strengthening is essential to face what remains of the season.

The club's support for Peña is total

The confidence of Deco and the sports management in Peña is total, and beyond what Flick may decide, the idea of the club is that Iñaki is the starter. From there, the ball is in the 'court' of the footballer, who must earn the right to continue defending the goal on the field.

The signing of Szczesny is a measure by the club to cover its back in case of any contingency that would leave the squad with the only presence of Diego Kochen, who is injured and could be out for a month, and Ander Astralaga. Despite the confidence that is placed in them for the future, the Catalans still see them as unsuitable to assume the responsibility of being between the three sticks of the first team, which is why they went to the free agent market to shore up the position.