BARCELONA: Barcelona coach Hansi Flick backed reserve goalkeeper Inaki Pena to replace stricken team-mate Marc-Andre ter Stegen on Tuesday, but also said the club must discuss if they will sign a replacement.
Germany international Ter Stegen was taken off with a ruptured knee tendon against Villarreal on Sunday and is likely to miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery. Pena, who stepped in for Ter Stegen last season when he was sidelined with a back injury, is poised to start in goal against Getafe on Wednesday in La Liga.
“First of all Inaki is doing really well, in pre-season and training, he´s also a professional goalkeeper, he trained very hard for that,” Flick told a news conference. “For a second goalkeeper it´s always difficult to be focussed but from what I can see he´s absolutely focussed and he´s ready to play.
“We have confidence in him but we also have to see what we are doing (about the situation).” Pena, 25, conceded 32 goals in 17 matches across all competitions last season, keeping only three clean sheets. Besides Pena, Barcelona have goalkeepers Ander Astralaga, 20, and Diego Kochen, 18, who is currently out injured.
Barcelona are able to sign a free agent to replace Ter Stegen, with Spanish media linking former Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas with the league leaders. “We will talk about (what to do) later, because behind (Pena) we have only really young players and if something will change, we have to be careful about that,” continued Flick.
“We have no pressure now, we´ll see what happens and we´ll speak together, also with (goalkeeping coach Jose Ramon de la Fuente) because this is important for me... He´s the first person I will speak to and we will see.”
Barcelona have a perfect record in La Liga after six games and 17-year-old starlet Lamine Yamal has been in dazzling form, playing almost every minute of the campaign to date, scoring three goals and setting up five. The 32-year-old was injured in Barca’s 5-1 LaLiga win at Villarreal on Sunday and is expected to be out for at least eight months, Spanish media reported.
“Inaki is doing very well, in pre-season too. He has worked very hard to be here. He is focused and ready to play,” Flick told reporters ahead of Wednesday’s home game with Getafe. “We are confident but we also have to look at what we do because the players at the back are very young.
For the moment, we don’t feel under pressure and we trust in Inaki.” Having joined Barcelona’s La Masia academy aged 13, the 25-year-old Pena has made 23 first-team appearances, conceding 39 goals and keeping five clean sheets.
“We will see what happens. We will talk to (Spain manager) Luis de la Fuente, who has coached world-class goalkeepers for many years. He will be the first person I will talk to,” Flick added.
The Catalans were already without new signing Dani Olmo and fellow midfielders Gavi, Frenkie de Jong, Marc Bernal and Fermin Lopez plus defenders Ronald Araujo and Andreas Christensen.
Barca have made a perfect start to the season in LaLiga under Flick, with six straight wins putting them top of the table, four points ahead of champions Real Madrid in second. “I think he could be the best (player) in the world in the future, 100 percent,” said Flick, who argued Spain´s Euro 2024 winning star is not in need of a rest.
“We have all the data from the players, at the moment he doesn´t need a rest -- he´s doing well,” added the coach. “What he´s doing this season is really unbelievable, also the other players and we have to continue this performance.” But the former Bayern Munich boss is striving for more.
“We analysed the game against Villarreal and we saw a lot of things that can be improved. We haven’t reached the end of the road. You can always do more. We are moving forward step by step,” Flick added.