Barcelona ‚make contact‘ with retired goalkeeper after Marc-Andre ter Stegen injury
Barcelona are reported to be in talks with former Juventus goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny as they consider options to replace Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Ter Stegen ruptured a tendon in his right knee during the weekend’s win over Villarreal, requiring surgery and feared to be a season-ending injury.
It leaves Inaki Pena as Barcelona’s senior goalkeeper and untested young pair Ander Astralaga and Diego Kochen as the back-ups. As such, the Catalans were quickly rumoured to be holding what were described as ‚emergency‘ transfer talks to weigh up the possibility of getting a replacement in.
Claudio Bravo, who shared duties with Ter Stegen for two years and only recently retired after leaving Real Betis, has offered his services to his former club.
But Szczesny has emerged too. Polish outlet Meczyki were the first to report that Barcelona have been in touch with the goalkeeper’s camp, with several outlets soon confirming contact had been made. But with talks still at the earliest stage, it is not clear what the outcome will be, although Szczesny is said to be open to the idea.
The 34-year-old was released from his Juventus contract by mutual consent during the summer. But instead of finding a new club, he surprisingly announced his retirement altogether, admitting he no longer felt mentally capable of continuing to play.
Szczesny had been Juventus No.1 until the end, missing only three Serie A games last season, suggesting he would still be good enough to start for a top level club.
Szczesny joined Arsenal’s youth ranks at the age of 16 and went on to make 181 appearances for the club until he was suddenly dropped after an apparent falling out with Arsene Wenger. He spent two years on loan at Roma, before a permanent transfer to Juve in 2017.