Barcelona veteran in line for his first start of the season in upcoming Copa del Rey clash | OneFootball

It has been three months since FC Barcelona secured the signing of Wojciech Szczesny as an emergency replacement for Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who suffered a serious season-ending injury.

The former Poland No. 1, at the time, had left Juventus and announced his retirement, and was settling into a family life in Marbella.

However, some quick conversations, including one with a certain Robert Lewandowski, changed things and Szczesny made a U-turn on his retirement decision and signed for Barça until the end of the season.

Debut on the horizon

Upon his signing, there had been speculations that Szczesny agreed to join Barcelona only if he would be the first-choice starter ahead of Inaki Pena.

However, AS reports that the former Arsenal and Juventus star was not offered any such guarantees, nor did he ask for anything.

Szczesny’s time is almost here. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

While he did expect to play at some stage, Szczesny has yet to step onto the pitch for a single minute in the Barça jersey.

However, all that is set to change on January 4 when Barcelona take on UD Barbastro in the Copa del Rey Round of 32.

Indeed, if nothing goes wrong, Szczesny will start against the RFEF Segunda Division outfit in the Blaugrana’s first match of 2025, marking his debut for the club.

Even though he has not played at all since signing, Szczesny’s behaviour has been described as excellent and professional according to sources from the dressing room.

Now that he is set to get an opportunity to prove himself in a week’s time, the 34-year-old shot-stopper will be eager to make a mark.