Barcelona to offer veteran star a new 1-year deal following his recent performances: Reports
Barcelona are ready to offer Wojciech Szczesny a one-year extension following his impressive recent performances, according to MARCA. The Polish goalkeeper came out of retirement last October to help the Catalans deal with Marc-Andre ter Stegen's knee injury.
The German custodian remains sidelined at the moment and it is unclear if he will return before the end of the campaign. Meanwhile, the LaLiga giants initially trusted Inaki Pena to fill in between the sticks, but still opted to rope in Szczesny.
The Spaniard started very well, but has slipped down the pecking order at Barcelona of late. Hansi Flick has opted to install the Polish goalkeeper as his new No. 1 and he hasn't disappointed.
Szczesny has registered eight clean sheets from 14 appearances across competitions. While his contract expires at the end of the season, the Catalans are now ready to keep the former Juventus man at Camp Nou for an additional year.
Speaking earlier on Friday, as cited by TBR Football, Flick was full of praise for the 34-year-old.
"He's fantastic. The other players were defending 10 against 11 and he helped us a lot. It's his job. There's no hiding it. He does his job very well and that's why he's number 1 now," said Flick.
Szczesny has already won the Supercopa de Espana with Barcelona this season, and will have his eyes on the league and the Champions League as well.
Will Barcelona bring Neymar back to Camp Nou this summer?
Barcelona are not working on a move to bring Neymar back to Camp Nou this summer, according to sporting director Deco. The Brazilian sensation has been in fine form since rejoining Santos from Al-Hilal this winter and has been linked with the Catalans of late.
However, speaking recently to TNT Sports (via Barca Blaugranes), Deco insisted that it wasn't the right time to talk about Neymar's return.
“Neymar is obviously still an important player, but building a football team requires balance and good planning. Neymar was a phenomenon here, winning trophies and achieving a lot," said Deco.
He continued:
“It could happen again, nobody knows, but right now it’s not the right time for Barcelona to talk about Neymar’s return, and I don’t think Neymar is thinking about it either. I follow football and I see him happy, and that’s the most important thing for me.”
Neymar has registered three goals and three assists from seven games so far for Santos.