Barcelona academy graduate torn over whether to renew or leave the club – report

Inaki Pena is among the Barcelona players whose contracts expire at the end of the ongoing campaign. The 24-year-old came through the youth ranks at La Masia and has been held in high regard within the club throughout his tenure.

However, Pena had to wait until the ongoing season to make his senior debut, when he started the UEFA Champions League match against Viktoria Plzen. Since then, he has played just twice more, with both appearances coming in the early stages of the Copa del Rey.

Given his contract situation and the lack of playing time, Pena is in a quandary about his next move. Indeed, according to Josep Capdevila, the Spanish goalkeeper is ‘torn’ on whether to renew with Barcelona or leave this summer in search of regular game-time.

As per the report, the second-choice goalkeeper has always dreamt of representing Barcelona and his heart says that he should stay put at Camp Nou and wait for his chance.

However, at the same time, the shot-stopper understands that he is unlikely to play much if he does so as Marc-Andre ter Stegen is the undisputed starter in goal and has locked down the goalkeeping spot at the club.

So, it is natural that the 24-year-old has some reservations about continuing given that he is at a stage in his career when he needs to be playing regularly.

The report adds that Pena will make a decision on his future and communicate it to the club in the next few days.

Barcelona, for their part, are keen on retaining the youngster’s services and see him as a long-term successor to Ter Stegen. However, in case he does not renew, they plan to promote fellow academy man Arnau Tenas to the first-team setup.