The departure of an out-of-favour member of the first-team ranks at La Liga champions Barcelona is not progressing at the speed which the club had hoped.
That’s according to Mundo Deportivo, who point towards Iñaki Peña as the player in question.
Peña is for his part fresh off something of a difficult campaign in Catalunya’s capital in 2024/25.
Thrust into a surprisingly prominent role owing to the long-term injury suffered by Marc-André ter Stegen, the 26-year-old, for the most part, went on to impress in Hansi Flick’s XI.
Before long, however, Peña was forced to watch on from the bench once more, as free agent signing Wojciech Szczęsny usurped the Spaniard in the Blaugrana goalkeeper pecking order.
With Szczęsny having since been rewarded by way of a two-year contract extension, and Joan García’s arrival from Espanyol long confirmed, it has in turn come as no great surprise to hear of Peña eyeing a new challenge.
As alluded to above, however, if the latest word stemming from the Spanish media is anything to go by, then Peña’s exit is unlikely to be confirmed any time soon…
As per a report from MD:
‘Iñaki Peña knows he’s not in Flick’s plans and that the best course of action is to move on. However, the offers he’s received don’t meet his expectations, and although he’s open to negotiations, the deal could take longer than expected.’
Conor Laird – GSFN
