Wojciech Szczesny says he has ‘no guarantees’ of a starting spot at Barcelona

Wojciech Szczesny has revealed he has received no guarantees from Barcelona about a starting role at the club after agreeing a deal with the Catalans.

The stopper has signed for the rest of the season, after Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s injury, and is expected to rival Inaki Pena for a place in the starting XI.

There has been speculation Szczesny only agreed to join the club if it meant regular football, but the former Poland international insists that’s not the case.

“In football, there are no guarantees to play in the first team. First, you have to fight for a starting place, and then you have to keep it,” he told Foot Truck “I haven’t had any conversations with Hansi Flick about my role in the team. Barça just told me clearly that they need my help, and I think I can help them. That’s the end of it. “Barça asked me to help them and I will do it, but the coach will decide if my experience will be on or off the pitch. “It could also be that I lose in the duel for the starting goalkeeper’s job. I’ll say more: if I lose and Iñaki Peña plays brilliantly, I won’t even be sad.”

Szczesny also spoke about how long it might take him to get match fit again after a few months out of the game.

“Honestly, I have no idea because I don’t know how long it will take me to get back in goal,” he added. “Physically I am not in bad shape, but I will need time to get into the rhythm of the dressing room and to get my eyes used to the speed of the ball. This is often the biggest problem after a break from football.”

We’ll therefore have to wait and see when Szczesny is ready for action once again and if he does displace Pena in the team under Hansi Flick.

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