Barcelona planning to approve deal for 26-year-old within 48 hours | OneFootball

Barcelona somewhat solved their registration woes over the weekend after managing to register Joan Garcia and Marcus Rashford in time to face Mallorca on Saturday evening. However, more is needed to ensure that other players can be signed up with La Liga, and this can be done through further departures.

It is almost certain that Inaki Pena will be one of the players to leave Barcelona before the summer transfer window closes. The 26-year-old goalkeeper is fourth-choice for the 2025-26 season, behind Garcia, Wojciech Szczesny and Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, but he has not yet been able to leave due to the club’s registration woes – prior to the Mallorca match, he was the only senior goalkeeper that was registered with La Liga.

However, with Garcia’s registration now done, as well as the expectation that Szczesny’s will happen soon, Barcelona are prepared to part ways with Pena – although it will not happen the way that most expect.

BELGRADE, SERBIA – NOVEMBER 6: Timi Elsnik (L) of Crvena Zvezda in action against goalkeeper Inaki Pena (R) of Barcelona during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD4 match between FK Crvena Zvezda and FC Barcelona at Stadium Rajko Mitic on November 6, 2024 in Belgrade, Serbia. (Image via Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images)

According to Sport, Pena will leave Barcelona on loan, rather than on a permanent basis. He is expected to sign a one-year contract extension in the coming days, before his next club is decided – the report has stated that this should happen by Wednesday.

Pena has suitors in Spain and abroad

It had been taken for granted that Pena would leave Barcelona via transfer, considering that his current deal is up next June. However, it does make sense to keep him around from next summer, given that Szczesny and Ter Stegen could both leave in 2026.

As for his next club, Barcelona’s Joan Gamper Trophy opponents Como are said to be very interested in securing his services, while there has also been interest shown by Celta Vigo.