Barcelona working to renew out-of-favour academy graduate and loan him out – report | OneFootball

Inaki Pena finds himself in a very unfortunate situation at FC Barcelona through no fault of his own. The La Masia graduate does not have a place in Hansi Flick’s plans for the new season and has been tipped to leave all summer.

However, Barça are holding off on his departure as they wait to sort out their registration woes. After all, at this point, only Pena is registered in La Liga, and Marc-Andre ter Stegen is out injured.

Even if the club registers Joan Garcia as expected by tonight, they intend to retain Pena, who is a target for Como, until backup goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny’s registration is also secured.

Barcelona’s plans with Pena

Post that, according to journalist Juli Claramunt, Barcelona are working to renew Inaki Pena’s contract with the club before sending him out on loan for the season.

Loan exit on the cards? (Photo by Judit Cartiel/Getty Images)

The initial idea had been for the La Masia goalkeeper to leave the club permanently, possibly with a letter of freedom, given that he has less than a year left on his contract.

However, it appears that the plans have now changed. Barça now intend to renew his contract, which expires in 2026, and then loan him out for the rest of the campaign.

The thought process behind this move is likely to be the possible market value boost that Pena could garner if he performs well away on loan, allowing Barcelona to secure a payday from his sale next summer.

As mentioned earlier, Como have shown an interest in signing Pena, and whether they are willing to take the Spaniard on a loan deal remains to be seen.