The FC Barcelona goalkeeper position is taking center stage in this summer’s transfer market. On the one hand, there is the initially unexpected arrival of Joan García, who has high expectations riding on him. To pair him with the former Espanyol player, the club wants to sign Szczesny, whose contract expired on the 30th. Although a renewal is expected to have already been agreed upon, it has not yet been signed. On the other hand, there are Iñaki Peña and Ter Stegen. The former was already expected to leave, but there is a lot of speculation about the captain’s departure, which the German refuses to accept and which will have repercussions in the coming weeks.
Revolution with the arrival of Joan García
FC Barcelona had the opportunity to sign one of the best goalkeepers in LaLiga with great potential and did not hesitate. The club decided to pay the $25 million release clause to free him from Espanyol. In principle, he is signing to be the starting goalkeeper, as he himself said in a recent interview with the club’s media. “When you’re in a team of this level, there has to be competition, it’s very healthy, there has to be. The daily demands make us all better. There’s a special connection between goalkeepers that you don’t find in other positions,“ he reflected. ”It’s the coach’s problem,” he added with a laugh.
A problem that focuses on Ter Stegen. The door has been opened for the captain to leave, as Joan García is wanted as the first-choice keeper, with Szczesny also available. The German has been offered options such as Monaco and Galatasaray, but it seems that he is only considering two options: continuity or termination. The first option benefits no one, as the German will not get enough playing time in a World Cup year and the club will continue to pay the salary of a player who will not play. As for termination, the player is angry about the situation and will not forgive a single euro of the three years remaining on his contract, which means that Barça would have to pay around $42 million, an unthinkable amount in the current situation.
Also involved in this complicated goalkeeping situation is Iñaki Peña, who has one year left on his contract but had already planned to leave the Blaugrana before the arrival of Joan García, having been ostracised following the arrival of Szczesny. The goalkeeper was looking to stay in LaLiga and head to Betis, but everything has changed.
Iñaki Peña heading abroad
Iñaki Peña will decide his future in a week and accept an offer from abroad, according to MARCA. Peña’s intention is to go and play abroad, where he has several offers on the table. And the decision will not take long to be made. What remains to be seen is whether this move abroad will involve a transfer or a free transfer. It has not been an easy year for the goalkeeper, who became the first-choice keeper following Ter Stegen’s injury but was then replaced by Hansi Flick, who opted for Szczesny, who became the number one.