Who should be Barca's starting keeper: Wojciech Szczesny or Inaki Pena?

FC Barcelona's 2024/25 campaign has been better than the club fans would have expected it to be so far. Leading the La Liga table with 24 points in the nine matchdays and having gotten to a recent massive 5-0 win against Young Boys, the club's performances have been brilliant. However, a major concern that had existed since the season started still continues with the club engaged in injury concerns.

Who should be Barca's starting keeper: Wojciech Szczesny or Inaki Pena?

While the Blaugrana club has faced many serious injuries this season, none seems more concerning than Ter Stegen's, which is expected to have him sidelined for around 8 months. And although the club signed Wojciech Szczesny as his replacement, apart from having prodigy keeper Inaki Pena, the club is still to decide whom to start. Thus, the question arises, Who should be Barca's starting keeper: Wojciech Szczesny or Inaki Pena?

Since Barca's priority number 1, Ter Stegen's injury, the club has been relying upon 25-year-old prodigy Inaki Pena for the role. However, what makes the situation different from earlier is the fact that unlike earlier, when the club had no options available apart from Pena, veteran keeper Szczesny is going to be available for squad selection after the October international break.

Analyzing the situation more closely, it is evident that Inaki Pena, in his 5 appearances so far, hasn't been excellent. However, that being sad, he hasn't looked much poor between the sticks as well. More appropriately, despite having 4 goals conceded so far, which all came against Osasuna in their 4-2 loss, Pena has looked miserable at times, indicating a lack of experience at the biggest stage.

On the other hand, 34-year-old Wojciech Szczesny, having spent the majority of his club career at some of the biggest teams, would definitely feel much more confident in the role. Moreover, what falls in the Polish keeper's favor is his staggering physical levels, upon which improvising during the ongoing break, he could become the undisputable starter for FC Barcelona.

However, given Inaki Pena has been Barca's prodigy keeper, he isn't definitely going to be sidelined either. As reports from Mundo Deportivo suggest, Hansi Flick would most likely involve the two keepers in a rotation policy, depending on the competition the team plays. Barca fans would hope that both of the two play a key role in the club's season ahead, helping them fight for major titles this season.