FC Barcelona continue pre-season preparations under Hansi Flick’s watchful eye as they look to be in perfect shape for the pre-season tour to Asia. Clubs around Europe have already started playing games and the Catalan club will be a part of their first friendly this weekend.
Flick is looking to build on what was a very good 2024/25 season that helped lay a rock-solid foundation for the future. The German coach will be keen to take the squad to the next level in the upcoming season and the Asian tour is just the start.
The German coach has seen the arrival of new players to his squad – Joan Garcia, Marcus Rashford and Roony Bardghji, all three of whom are expected to be on the plane to Japan. Flick has a few players in the squad who are not a part of his plans too.
Inaki Pena is not in Barcelona’s plans
One among them is Inaki Pena. Now, as per Mundo Deportivo, the Barcelona goalkeeper knows that he is not in the German coach’s plans, but will be on the pre-season tour to Asia unless an offer that satisfies all parties comes in by then.
Pena was the designated reserve keeper last season and had a good first half of the season when Ter Stegen was out injured but he was eventually displaced by Wojciech Szczesny. With Joan Garcia now coming and the other two players still at the club, the Spaniard’s future is all but over.
Flick made a lot of the right decisions last summer, and one of them included trusting Szczesny for the important phase of the season. However, that came at the cost of an unfair decision to drop Pena, as the Spaniard had done nothing wrong.
Pena is expected to leave this summer
Thus, the German coach is keen on respecting Pena’s contract with Barcelona and will continue to count on him until the Spaniard receives a suitable offer to leave. Thus, he is expected to be on the plane to Asia, although play time might be difficult to come by.
It remains to be seen what the future holds for Pena. At 26, he is no spring chicken and needs to play at a club that guarantees him regular game time. The next few weeks should provide clarity on what the next destination could be for the Barcelona shot-stopper and let’s wait and see how it plays out.
