Barca's replacement signing believes he would guarantee himself a starter role

Since FC Barcelona's fixture ended against Villarreal, with the Blaugrana club winning 5-1, the hot topic of discussion at the club has been Ter Stegen's injury replacement. At the stroke of the first half, the club's priority number had to be subbed off after looking in severe pain, with Inaki Pena coming into his place.

Barca's replacement signing believes he would guarantee himself a starter role

While it was much known that the keeper's injury is somewhat similar to the one former star Victor Valdes had endured in the 2024 season. As per reports, it is being predicted that while it could take more time than expected, Ter Stegen would be unavailable for the club for at least eight months. As an immediate step, Barca began looking for alternatives for the German international, and finally, they decided to go with former Juve keeper Wojciech Szczesny.

Although the club hasn't officially announced the 34-year-old veteran's signing, Barca stands much closer to doing so. As per reports from Transfer Expert Fabrizio Romano, Wojciech Szczesny will sign the Barca contract on Monday, with the official announcement to be made soon. However, meanwhile, an interesting claim sounds emerging from the keeper's entourage about his role in the Barca setup.

As Diario SPORT reports had made it clear, Barca staff hold the opinion of eyeing Wojciech Szczesny as an ideal candidate due to his viable playstyle abilities; however, that doesn't guarantee him a starting role in the XI. Further, the report mentioned that similar to the club's prodigy keepers, Inaki Pena and Ander Astralaga, the veteran star would have to fight for a place in the final lineup list.

However, recent sources suggest that Szczesny is much more confident in convincing Barca boss Flick for a starter role soon. While in principle, the idea for him was to be the 2nd goalkeeper, with Pena being slightly above in the pecking order, the player believes that with a few training sessions, he will convince Flick for him to be the 1st option.

On the other hand, don't forget that prodigy star Inaki Pena, making his season debut start for the club, had a decent game against Getafe in the Barca goal. Although the 25-year-old looked a bit shaky in the initial minutes, he soon grasped confidence, making a few key saves for the club in the process. So far, in his one-and-a-half-game performance, Pena hasn't conceded a single goal, which would tempt Flick to continue with him in the role.

Overall, it remains to be seen whether veteran star Szczesny backs his confidence, winning Flick's trust for a starting role or not. However, whatever happens, it would certainly be beneficial for the club, with prodigy keepers pushing themselves for a spot in the playing XI against a seasoned superstar.