Wojciech Szczesny has been under the microscope in recent weeks after his disappointing Champions League performance for Barcelona against Benfica. The Polish goalkeeper gifted two goals to the Portuguese team, although it turned out to be in vain, as the Catalans achieved a memorable 5-4 comeback at the Estadio da Luz.
However, there has been some outrage towards Szczesny, who had to wait until earlier this month to make his Barcelona debut despite signing in October. Iñaki Peña had been a regular starter until then, although he could get the gloves back when Valencia visit the Estadi Olimpic this weekend, which may have been the plan anyway, as he has been an ever-present in La Liga.
Szczesny, who had retired last summer after leaving Juventus, was hired by Barcelona to replace Marc-André Ter Stegen, who is expected to miss the rest of the season with a knee ligament injury suffered in the victory against Villarreal in September.
Szczesny was by far the leading candidate for Barcelona, who had decided on an immediate replacement rather than waiting until January. However, he was not the only one, as former Sevilla goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik revealed in a recent interview with Polish media Tvp Sport (via Marca) that he was also considered.
“I followed the announcement of Szczesny’s retirement and then his transfer to Barcelona all the time because they were also considering me for a transfer to Barcelona to replace Ter Stegen. In the end they chose Szczesny.”
Like Szczesny, Vaclik was (and remains) a free agent, having left Second Division side Albacete at the end of last season. He would have been a cheaper option in terms of salary, although Barcelona probably decided that he was not at the necessary level to compete for the starting job alongside Peña.