Iñaki Peña vs Wojciech Szczęsny: Hansi Flick’s Barcelona no.1 confirmed

An insight into the plans of Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick when it comes to the situation between the posts in his squad moving forward has on Friday been provided.

And the news may well come as something of a surprise.

Barcelona, of course, are expected to announce a fresh addition to the club’s goalkeeper ranks imminently, Wojciech Szczęsny primed to come out of retirement to pen terms with the Blaugrana for the remainder of the campaign.

This comes after no.1 Marc-André ter Stegen was condemned to a long-term spell on the sidelines, with a serious knee injury.

The widespread assumption was that, upon getting back up to speed, Szczęsny would assume first-choice duties in Catalunya’s capital for the remainder of the term.

If the latest word stemming from the media is anything to go by, however, then this, in fact, is not the plan at all.

As per a report from Diario Sport, Iñaki Peña, who stepped into the Barcelona goal against Getafe in midweek, is the favoured candidate of boss Flick to act as no.1 through next summer.

Szczęsny, as a result, is currently considered by the Blaugrana coaching staff as a backup option:

‘Iñaki will have to earn it, like any other player on the pitch, but the signing of an experienced goalkeeper now is done because of the need to cover his back in case Marc-André’s replacement suffers an unexpected problem. The goal is his,’ it is concluded.

Conor Laird – GSFN