Barcelona are on the hunt for another goalkeeper after the long-term injury to Marc-Andre ter Stegen, and after Claudio Bravo offered himself to his former club, a second retired goalkeeper is reportedly willing to be return to the game for a shot with the Blaugrana.
As per Sport, former Juventus, Arsenal and Poland goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny is willing to join Barcelona, despite retiring in August. They say Barcelona have made contact with the 34-year-old to convince him of a move, and that he is the priority for them, ahead of the likes of Bravo or Keylor Navas.
Part of the reason is that Hansi Flick knows Szczesny well, having seen him in action for Arsenal, Roma, Juventus and Poland, and is to his liking. His relationship with Robert Lewandowski is another factor in his favour, as the two are close friends, and he is much younger than the likes of Bravo (41) or Navas (37).
Last season Szczesny also kept 15 clean sheets, and conceded 30 goals in 35 games, the latter far from a stellar rate, but evidence of he can still perform at the top level. In addition they also feel that Szczesny is better with his feet than the alternatives on the market too.
Meanwhile Bar Canaletes report that Szczesny would be willing to live in Spain, as he already has a house in Marbella. In fact, when it looked like Andriy Lunin might move on, the veteran shot-stopper got in touch with Thibaut Courtois to ask about life in La Liga.
Inaki Pena, who could be his competition, could have been an option for Espanyol too, had Joan Garcia left, and Szczesny let it be known that he would be open to moving to Barcelona to continue his career, and he already has friends living in the popular town of Castelldelfels, where many footballers live on the outskirts of Barcelona.
One obstacle to his signing might be the cost. Szczesny agreed a lucrative redundancy package with Juventus when he was leaving the club, upon his retirement, but one of the conditions was that he would have to return that money if he decided to join another club.
Certainly of the free agent options that have been suggested, none of the others have such recent experience at the top level as the Polish goalkeeper does. Szczesny may also be the most expensive option by the same virtue. The Blaugrana have 80% of ter Stegen’s salary to use on the signing, which some say is around €7m, but the Blaugrana also have to add any cost to their salary limit next season too.