Barcelona goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny has hinted that he may be prepared to remain at Camp Nou in the long term.
During the summer, the 34-year-old made the surprise decision to retire from professional football on the back of his exit from Juventus.
However, less than two months after that development, the former Poland international reversed that call to sign for Barcelona on a free transfer.
The Catalan giants were forced to act courtesy of a serious knee injury having been sustained by Marc-Andre ter Stegen, with Szczesney initially being brought in to act as deputy to Inaki Pena.
Instead, he is now viewed as first-choice goalkeeper by Hansi Flick, making a total of 13 appearances in all competitions.
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Is Szczesny ready to stay at Barcelona?
The assumption has been that Szczesny would be content with ending his stint at the Catalan giants when his contract expires at the end of the season.
Speaking in an interview with Barca One, as quoted by Fabrizio Romano on X, Szczesny has revealed that he is open to remaining at the club.
He said: "If you asked me at the start of the season, I'd say I'll be leaving Barca in June. But I love the time I've spent here.
"My family is happy, my son loves his school, my wife loves being here. I'm open to everything."
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Szczesny on Ter Stegen competition
As it stands, it is unlikely that Ter Stegen will be rushed back into action before the end of the season, particularly given the magnitude of the matches being played.
Nevertheless, Szczesny has indicated that he will welcome the German's return, adding: "He's been a great help: even before I signed he sent me a message saying that if I needed him he was there for whatever I needed.
"I'm very happy to see that his recovery is going very well. So everything is very friendly: there's no competition because there can't be right now, I just hope he comes back and helps us as soon as possible so I can relax a bit (laughs)."
Barcelona are yet to lose with Szczesny between the sticks, recording a total of 10 wins and three draws, while he has also kept seven clean sheets.
Darren Plant
