Spanish press reports have confirmed that Barcelona have already begun searching for a replacement for Marc-André ter Stegen, who will be out for at least eight months.
Despite their confidence in Iñaki Peña, the club feels the need to strengthen the goalkeeping position, given the presence of young alternatives such as Astralaga (20 years old) and Cochin (18 years old) in the event of any setback with Peña.
According to information received from the Catalan newspaper “Sport” after the training session that preceded Barcelona’s match against Getafe, the sporting management, including sporting director Deco, coach Hansi Flick and deputy sporting director Bojan Krkic, met to evaluate the available options.
The discussion was about whether to sign a goalkeeper now in light of the market restrictions, as the team can only be strengthened with a free agent, or to wait until the January transfer market.
In light of the available offers, the management focused on two goalkeepers: Polish Wojciech Szczesny (34 years old) and Costa Rican Keylor Navas (37 years old).
The first, who played for Juventus last season, decided to retire last summer despite having another year left on his contract, while the second terminated his contract with Paris Saint-Germain, after a loan period at Nottingham, and both have extensive experience and the ability to provide immediate performance, which is what Barcelona needs.
Barcelona have made contact with both goalkeepers, and they have expressed their willingness to strengthen the team until June 30th for a low fee. If the decision is up to Flick, his first choice is Szczesny, who participated with his country’s national team in the European Cup last summer, and has a strong friendship with Robert Lewandowski, which could help him adapt to the team.
In light of the ongoing negotiations, reliable journalist Fabrizio Romano announced that Szczesny has returned from retirement and will become Barcelona’s new goalkeeper in the coming days.
Fabrizio added that the deal will be announced in the coming hours after the player undergoes a medical examination in Barcelona.
For his part, Hansi Flick believes that Szczesny’s experience in the elite is necessary to fill the gap resulting from the absence of Ter Stegen, which makes him a reliable deal for the Catalan club.