Barcelona out-of-favour player ‘very close’ to joining Serie A outfit – report | OneFootball

While there is a very slim possibility of FC Barcelona making any new signings in the final couple of weeks of the summer transfer window, several exit operations are expected to take place.

Oriol Romeu, for one, is set to terminate his contract and leave as a free agent. Youngster Hector Fort is also likely to be on the move, either on loan or permanently, but with a buyback option.

Inaki Pena is another Barcelona player who is certain to depart in the coming days.

Inaki Pena to Como very close

In fact, according to journalist Jose Alvarez on El Chiringuito TV, Pena is ‘very close’ to completing a move to Serie A side Como 1907.

This comes on the back of reports suggesting that the 26-year-old was finalising his contract renewal with Barcelona before leaving the club on loan.

Italy move imminent. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)

The initial plan had been for Barça to let Pena leave for free, even though he still has a year left on his current deal. However, since then, the Catalans have changed their strategy.

The idea is now for the goalkeeper to extend his contract by one more year, until 2027, and then leave the club on loan.

It helps the club in two ways – distributing his salary across two years, easing the Fair Play burden, and increasing the possibility of getting a fee for him next summer if he performs well on loan.

Como had been in talks for Pena for a while now, but the move seemed to have come to a halt. However, the new formula of renewal and loaning out has unlocked the situation.

Celta Vigo were also interested in the 26-year-old La Masia graduate, but it appears that he is inches away from securing a transfer to Italy, where he will play under Barcelona icon Cesc Fabregas, alongside former teammates Sergi Roberto and Alex Valle.