Barcelona confirm departure of 26-year-old to La Liga rivals | OneFootball

Barcelona will be very busy between now and the end of the summer transfer window, which closes on Monday evening. Several exits are needed in order for their registration woes to be sorted, and the first of those have now been finalised.

In the last couple of weeks, negotiations have intensified over the exit of Inaki Pena, who does not count for Hansi Flick. The 26-year-old goalkeeper would be first in the pecking order behind Joan Garcia, Wojciech Szczesny and Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, which is why it has been decided for him to depart.

A permanent deal had originally been planned, before a loan was ultimately decided upon. Numerous clubs have registered their interest, but in recent days, Elche moved into pole position – and they have now got their man.

On Wednesday, Barcelona confirmed that Pena was left to join Elche on loan, but before so, he has penned a three-year contract extension, until 2029.

“Agreement reached between FC Barcelona and first team player Iñaki Peña to extend his contract to 30 June 2029. Agreement also reached between FC Barcelona and Elche Club de Fútbol for the keeper to go on loan for this season up to 30 June 2026.

“Now after extending his contract with the Club until 2029, the stopper from Alicante will continue to gain top flight experience close to home at Elche under Eder Sarabia, who was assistant coach to Quique Setién.”

Image via Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images

Pena exit will allow Barcelona to register Szczesny

Pena will arrive at Elche to compete with Matias Dituro for the starting spot, but back at Barcelona, his departure will create the necessary space to finally register Szczesny. The Polish goalkeeper missed the opening two matches of the new season, but with these developments, he will be able to be included in the squad to face Rayo Vallecano this weekend.