Barcelona: Jokin Ezkieta set to join Athletic Bilbao in the summer

Jokin Ezkieta will join Athletic Bilbao once his contract runs out in the summer.

Barcelona currently have plenty of depth in the goalkeeping position, with Marc-Andre ter Stegen the undisputed starter and the experienced Dutch international Jasper Cillessen as his back-up; they also have Jokin Ezkieta, who joined the club in 2017 from CE Sabadell but is yet to feature for the first team.

According to Mundo Deportivo, Ezkieta has rejected a new contract and will join Athletic Bilbao in the summer, when his contract ends, in order to compete with Unai Simon and Iago Herrerin for the starting role. This is obviously a big step up for him as he will have the chance to be a starter for a top La Liga club, who could be playing in Europe next season.

Ezkieta is in an unenviable position even though he is playing for Barcelona because his role as the third goalkeeper means he would only start if Ter Stegen and Cillessen pick up injuries. However, he has only featured 12 times for Barcelona B over the past two seasons, even though he is rarely in the Barcelona matchday squad, as the club appears to want to continue Inaki Pena’s progression at the expense of Ezkieta. Therefore, it’s understandable that he wants to move on because his development has stalled.

Cillessen has made it clear that he wants to move in the summer because he is no longer happy being a back-up considering he could be a starter for most sides and is at the peak of his career. His departure leaves a small chance that Ezkieta would be promoted to the back-up role, although that is unlikely as the club is probably going to bring in an experienced option, and Ezkieta is clearly unwilling to wait.