Former Juventus goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny has said he will listen to Barcelona’s offer to come out of retirement after the Catalan club made him their top target to replace the injured Marc-André ter Stegen.
A source confirmed to ESPN that talks are well underway between Barça and Szczesny’s camp to thrash out the final details of what is expected to be a short-term contract until the end of the season, but no agreement has yet been reached.
ESPN revealed earlier this week that Barça would look to sign a free agent to compete with backup keeper Iñaki Peña after Ter Stegen ruptured a tendon in his knee during Sunday’s 5-1 win at Villarreal.
Speaking after Barça’s 1-0 win over Getafe on Wednesday, in which Peña played, manager Hansi Flick refused to comment on any move for the former Arsenal and Juventus keeper.
“I only speak about players we have in the club and Iñaki is our No.1,” Flick said. “We have a clean sheet today and we are all happy about that. We have three points more. That is what counts.”
However, Flick did say the club was considering options for a keeper with more experience.
“We have Iñaki who is 25 and the other guys are only young players,” Flick added. “If something happened, we also need experience. This is why we are talking about that.
“We will see what happens.”
Rules allow the LaLiga leaders to sign someone who is out of work given the severity of the injury suffered by Ter Stegen — who underwent surgery on Monday and will be sidelined for months — even though the transfer window is closed.
“I have a lot of respect for Barça’s history,” Szczesny told Diario Sport.
“They are one of the best clubs in the world and I understand the difficult situation they are in after the injury to Ter Stegen.
“I think it would be disrespectful to not consider the option [of signing].”
Szczesny, 34, left Juve at the end of last season and retired from professional football after making two appearances at the European Championship in the summer as Poland exited the competition in the group stage.
Prior to joining Juve in 2017, where he went on to make 252 appearances, he had spent the majority of his career with Premier League side Arsenal, who he joined as a 16-year-old, as well as enjoying loan spells with Brentford and AS Roma.
He emerged as an option for Barça earlier this week after Ter Stegen’s season-ending injury given he is without a club.
The ex-Poland international would provide competition for Peña, who made 17 first team appearances last season and replaced Ter Stegen for the second half at Villarreal last weekend.
Peña, 25, will keep the gloves for Wednesday’s LaLiga game against Getafe at the Olympic Stadium ahead of upcoming games against Osasuna and Young Boys in the league and Champions League respectively.
