Earlier this week, Barcelona made great progress with Fenerbahce over the transfer of their goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic this summer.
The club intended to secure him as Joan Garcia’s deputy and send him back to his current side on loan for one season before his official arrival in 2027.
Both parties seemed to favour that deal, and the agreement between Barcelona and Fenerbahce was only seen to be a matter of time. Even an official announcement was imminently expected.
A change in detail
Now, as reported by Que Thi Jueges in a rather surprising update, Barcelona are pushing to change the terms of the deal from what was initially discussed and hope to fast-track the goalkeeper’s arrival.
Will Livakovic arrive this summer? (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Indeed, Barcelona are now pushing to bring Livakovic to the Spotify Camp Nou immediately, thereby doing away with the entire idea of a return on loan next season.
The Catalans instead prefer having the player in Hansi Flick’s dynamics for the ongoing season as well and see him as an immediate backup option to Joan Garcia.
Conflicting reports going around
What is clear at this point is that the deal between Barcelona and Fenerbahce is all but closed. The paperwork has also been signed and the transfer is said to be completed for a fee of €2 million with an additional €2 million in add-ons.
How reliable is Szczesny as a backup? (Photo by Aitor Alcalde/Getty Images)
Fabrizio Romano, who is usually ever-reliable, continues to claim that Barcelona’s plan has not changed and that they will be boosted by Livakovic’s services next summer.
The current claim, however, is also growing and is completely understandable from a sporting perspective.
After all, Wojciech Szczesny is a strong backup option but even the veteran himself has admitted that his body no longer permits him to play regularly.
Such a scenario, needless to say, will worry Hansi Flick for a single long-term blow to Joan Garcia will leave the team in trouble.
Signing a younger backup option this summer, in that sense, would be smart business and it remains to be seen which theory turns out to be true.