Barcelona academy graduate’s renewal is almost done, Xavi has confidence in the player

As we enter 2023, Barcelona have several players in the final year of their contracts who can now negotiate with other clubs over a possible free transfer in the summer.

One such player whose contract at Barça stands to run out at the end of the season is goalkeeper Inaki Pena.

The 23-year-old goalkeeper’s current deal has just six months left and according to Mundo Deportivo, Pena is very close to renewing his contract with Barcelona so that he can stay put at Spotify Camp Nou beyond the ongoing season.

The Spanish goalkeeper has been a part of Barça’s La Masia setup for a decade now and has been held in high regarding within the club. He spent the second half of the last season on loan at Galatasaray made a solid impression.

Having returned to Camp Nou in the summer, Pena was retained by Xavi as the second-choice goalkeeper in the squad, with the manager opting to sanction an exit for Neto.

The 23-year-old made his senior debut for the Catalans in their UEFA Champions League dead rubber against Viktoria Plzen in November.

That remains his sole senior appearance for the Blaugrana to date. And with Marc-Andre ter Stegen in sublime form, he is unlikely to see a lot of regular game-time either.

Despite that, Xavi is understood to have a lot of confidence in the player and Pena himself is believed to be keen on renewing his contract.

And as per the aforementioned report, a new deal is close to being finalised, while it is also mentioned that Pena will start for Barcelona in the upcoming Copa del Rey encounter against CF Intercity.

It has previously been suggested that the 23-year-old will pen a new deal with the Blaugrana until the summer of 2026. Once they tie Pena up, Barcelona will also look to renew the contracts of Marcos Alonso and Alejandro Balde as well.