Can this player be the key to Barcelona’s goalkeeper problems?

Barcelona is in a rebuilding phase and by the looks of it, the club will completely change in a couple of seasons and will be back to its former glory. The Catalan side was under a lot of pressure for a few years because they had ageing talents and their youngsters were not being utilized properly. One of the managers who decided to utilize the youth and let the experienced players take a back foot was Ronald Koeman. He, however, was not the right man for the job and Xavi Hernandez soon took over to finish what Koeman had started. Now, Xavi has brought in a lot of new players for the attack and wishes to change the defense next.

The players that Xavi has brought in are mostly free and all of them have had an impact on the team already. Now that the forward line is temporarily fixed, there is a new problem regarding the defence, especially the goalkeeping position. Marc-Andre ter Stegen is one of the best keepers in the world but recently he has been underperforming a bit and this is due to the lack of competition for his place. Often times the right amount of competition can help players get better as they try their best to keep the number one spot in the team.

Barcelona to use Inaki Pena as Ter Stegen’s competition

Barca has decided to bring in a new keeper to replace Neto, their second keeper, as the Brazilian is not really offering him much competition. The Catalans have a few names on their list however, after seeing how Inaki Pena played last night against them, they might not have to even make a transfer. Pena is a Catalan player playing for Galatasary on loan and last night in his first match in the Camp Nou, although against his parent team, he performed brilliantly. He made at least four significant saves and controlled his backline quite well. After the match, he did mention that he is enjoying his minutes with his new club but is looking forward to returning to Barca. If the player can perform similarly next season as well, then not only will Barca save money but also give Ter Stegen a real competition for the goalkeeping position.

Should Barcelona promote Inaki Pena as a second-choice goalkeeper?