FC Barcelona have a very young squad at their disposal with very few players who can claim veteran status. Very few players like Robert Lewandowski, Marc-André ter Stegen, and Iñigo Martínez among others are on the wrong side of their 30s.
Thus, somewhere down the line, sporting director Deco will surely be thinking about succession planning for these players, and among these, the first position that they may have to look at is the goalkeeping situation at the club.
Club captain Marc-André ter Stegen is 32 and is out with a serious injury that has kept him out for the majority of this campaign. The German shot-stopper should return sometime in the future but no one is sure on what level he would return at.
In his absence, Iñaki Peña stepped up brilliantly and the Spaniard has performed very well but Hansi Flick admitted that the situation surrounding the goalkeeping department has changed in his head in recent weeks, hinting at more minutes for Wojciech Szczęsny.
Now, as per Fichajes, Barcelona are also planning ahead for the future as they have two candidates on their radar that they look at as Marc-André ter Stegen’s heir. The two goalkeepers on their radar are Diogo Costa of FC Porto and Marcin Bułka of OGC Nice.
The former is said to be the favorite to replace the German veteran shot-stopper. Diogo Costa is a full-time Portugal international and it is only a matter of time before he moves to one of the top European clubs in the world.
On the other hand, Marcin Bułka, who is also the same age, would be a great alternative, considering he has shown impressive form in Ligue 1. Interestingly, Iñaki Peña is also the same age and the goalkeeping dynamics could get interesting at Barcelona.
It remains to be seen which way Barcelona go with respect to their goalkeeping situation. The club has a tricky decision to make and only time will tell us which route Deco decides to take.
