‘Barça players aren’t guaranteed to start’ - Flick sends strong message to Szczesny
The coach set the record straight for the soon-to-be new keeper
Barcelona are set to sign a new goalkeeper to replace Marc-André ter Stegen as Wojciech Szczesny is ready to come out of retirement to join the Blaugrana on a one-year deal. The former Polish international will be a guest at the Champions League game against Young Boys, and his signing could be made official at any point now.
Szczesny reportedly asked to be given a guarantee that he would be the starting goalkeeper in order to sign for Barça, but his soon-to-be coach isn’t ready to accept that demand.
Hansi Flick was asked about Szczesny in a press conference on Monday, and made it clear in no uncertain terms that every Barça player must earn their spot in the team, and that Szczesny — once he officially becomes a Blaugrana — will need to do the same to take Iñaki Peña’s place as the number one.
“I’m not talking about players who are not yet in the team. Players who are at Barça cannot be guaranteed a starting spot.”
That’s as clear as it gets, and it’s good for Flick to set the record straight. Szczesny is a better keeper than Peña but he can’t just walk into the building thinking he’ll be the number one right away, and Iñaki deserves a fair shot to prove that he can still be the starter even with strong competition.
The training pitch and the games will make the decision for Flick. And that’s how it should be.
Source: barcablaugranes.com
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