Wojciech Szczesny will join Barcelona as an emergency replacement goalkeeper after reaching an agreement with the European giants, according to reports.
The Polish goalkeeper decided to retire after his contract with Juventus expired, but will now make a spectacular return playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world.
An agreement has been reached between the parties involved after a shock knee injury to Barcelona No. 1 Marc-Andre ter Stegen ended his season prematurely, Fabrizio Romano has reported.
Ter Stegen, 32, was carried off on a stretcher during Barca’s 5-1 rout of Villarreal and coach Hansi Flick knew immediately it was a “massive injury”, he told DAZN.
The German goalkeeper ruptured the patellar tendon – which connects the kneecap to the patellar bone – in his right knee and was examined at the Villarreal hospital.
Wojciech Szczesny to join Barcelona as emergency substitute goalkeeper
Barcelona number one Marc-André ter Stegen has suffered a season-ending injury
Ter Stegen had to be taken off on a stretcher after suffering a knee injury at the weekend
Barcelona’s options to bring in a replacement were limited after an earlier ruling decided that clubs could no longer sign a player from another club, as they did in the case of Leganés’ Martin Braithwaite in 2020.
Szczesny was among the list of names to fill the void at the teams competing in LaLiga and the Champions League, as well as former Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas.
Barcelona are now set to officially sign the former Gunner, who previously won the FA Cup twice during his time in north London, on a one-year contract when he comes out of retirement.
Former Arsenal goalkeeper Szczesny is set to sign a one-year contract with Barcelona
He is scheduled to undergo a medical in Spain later this week before joining up with the rest of Hansi Flick’s team.
The club will also be able to pay up to 80 per cent of Ter Stegen’s £7.5m salary.
Szczesny had previously announced he would leave the game in August after his contract with Juventus was terminated by mutual consent at the end of last season.
The 34-year-old, who has 84 caps for Poland, had made 200 appearances for Juventus in seven years after joining from Arsenal for £12.5m.
