Iñaki Peña keeps two options open to leave Barça

The future of Iñaki Peña is uncertain a week before the start of the FC Barcelona pre-season. The goalkeeper is a fixed discard for 2025/26 despite having a contract for one more year. The signing of Joan García and the renewal of Wojciech Szczesny leave him without a place in the squad, although beyond the signing of the Espanyol goalkeeper, his departure was already sung several months ago.

The reason is simple: the Alicante native prioritizes being a starter and in Barcelona he lost the position with Szczesny in the second half of 24/25, when Ter Stegen was still out due to injury. The German has also lost his place in the club after the signing of García, but his case is more complicated due to the value of his card and the duration of his contract (until 2028).

The possible destinations of Iñaki Peña: Will he stay in LaLiga or return to Turkey?

As for Iñaki, the Spanish goalkeeper maintains two open paths to find a team: leaving the country or signing for a LaLiga club. Valencia and Celta look like probable destinations for the '13' culé, although Espanyol and Betis also have him on their radar.

In addition, Peña has been strongly rumored to replace Uruguayan Fernando Muslera at Galatasaray. The goalkeeper was already in the Ottoman team for six months in 2022 and Okan Buruk's team positively value his signing. Especially if it ends up closing at 'zero cost'.

Although Iñaki has one more year of contract, Barça does not rule out giving him a letter of freedom to accelerate his departure. The ideal, of course, would be to make money with the Alicante native, but the lack of formal offers generates uncertainty and both parties need to resolve his departure as soon as possible.

For Barça, although the contract of the 26-year-old goalkeeper is not high, it does mean occupying a quota in the squad that could well be used to register Joan García. Peña, for his part, needs to join his new team soon to have real options of being a starter.

Celta, Galatasaray... Which is the best alternative for Iñaki Peña?

The Blaugrana team starts the pre-season next Sunday and Iñaki, in principle, will train with the rest of the squad until he defines his future. The player's relationship with the board is good, so there is no reason to finalize an exit on bad terms.

Of his possible options in LaLiga, the one at Celta seems the most attractive, since he would arrive to take the place of Vicente Guaita (he finished his contract last week) and could play in the Europa League with the Galicians.

At Betis he also has the possibility of playing in this tournament, but the 'Verdiblancos' currently have three goalkeepers: Fran Vietes, Adrián San Miguel and Álvaro Valles. One of them should leave so that they can sign the Blaugrana goalkeeper.

As for Espanyol, the signing of Marko Dmitrovic to cover the loss of Joan García could close the door to the XI 'perico' to Iñaki Peña. And, in Valencia, his main competition would be Stole Dimitrievski. At Galatasaray, on the other hand, he would have a clear path to the starting lineup. Will Barça finally be able to make money with the Spanish goalkeeper?

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