Real Betis table contract offer to Barcelona’s La Masia graduate – report

Barcelona will be hoping to clear out a bunch of their squad in the summer in an attempt to reduce their wage bill and make room in their team for new signings. With at least three different positions to reinforce, the Catalans might be forced to sell some priced assets.

They do, however, have a bunch of players that are surplus to requirements right now. In terms of both, the positions they play in, and the qualities they bring to the squad.

Clement Lenglet, Samuel Umtiti, Alex Collado, and Sergino Dest for example are almost certainly on the transfer list. Another player that could end up leaving is goalkeeper Inaki Pena.

Currently playing second-fiddle to Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Inaki is a graduate of La Masia. He served as Galatasaray’s goalkeeper on loan for six months before returning to the Catalan capital.

Real Betis hold a genuine interest in the Spaniard, if reports from SPORT are to be believed. They have already sent an offer to Inaki, according to the news.

The La Liga outfit currently have Claudio Bravo and Rui Silva shuffling as the first-choice goalkeeper. Neither of them have been convincing enough for Manuel Pellegrini, though.

Further, with Bravo turning 40 in April, and Silva turning 30 next year, Betis will have think about the long-term soon enough.

Should Inaki leave Barcelona to join Betis, it will leave Barcelona with Arnau Tenas as the backup goalkeeper, who has gained some fans for his modern goalkeeping style, largely resembling Victor Valdes’ aggressive sweeping.

That said, Inaki is one of the low-earners of the squad, and releasing him from contract will barely free up room in the wage bill. He will not command a high transfer fee, either, with the number expected to be below €5 million.