Barcelona decided that Wojciech Szczesny is their preferred goalkeeper to come in for the injured Marc-Andre ter Stegen, with the Pole ready to come out of retirement to sign for the Catalan giants. However, they have yet to reach an agreement.
Szczesny is aware that he is the first choice, and is open to sign, but Sport note that there are many questions to be resolved before an agreement can be reached. However, if that deal goes through, then Szczesny will be arriving at Barcelona soon.
Hansi Flick prefers Wojciech Szczęsny to Keylor Navas. @ffpolo, @RogerTorello
— Barcacentre (@barcacentre) September 25, 2024
One of the key issues on the table is part of his severance package with Juventus, who said he must return the money he earned from his exit before his retirement if he signed for another club during a stipulated period. This was first revealed by Bar Canaletes.
What about #Szczesny advance yesterday in @BarCanaletes pic.twitter.com/EDGdm9E5AG
— Bar Canaletes (@BarCanaletes) September 24, 2024
Barcelona do not guarantee Szczesny a starting role ahead of Inaki Pena, but believe he will win the starting spot if given the chance. The Catalans want to tie up a deal quickly, though, so that Szczesny could be available after the October international break and ready to play – if talks drag on, they will look at one of their other options.
It seems likely Barcelona is trying to find a middle ground between compensating Szczesny the money he was losing, and giving him a salary. The Blaugrana have 80% of Marc-Andre ter Stegen's salary to use on a replacement signing within 30 days of his injury, which is reported to be around €7 million. However, it should be noted that Barcelona will add this extra cost to their salary cap calculations for next season.
