Barcelona have accelerated their plans for Dominik Livaković, with the Croatia goalkeeper landing in the city on Tuesday afternoon to push through a transfer originally pencilled in for next summer.
He is due to complete a medical on Wednesday, after which the club will confirm the move officially.
The shift in timeline is significant. Barcelona had intended to send Livaković out on loan for a season, with a view to him joining permanently in 2027/28 once Wojciech Szczęsny's contract expired. Instead, everything points to an immediate integration into Hansi Flick's squad, leaving Barcelona with three senior goalkeepers on the books: Joan García, Szczęsny and Livaković.
The Croatian, who arrives from Fenerbahçe, would slot in as backup to Joan García, with Szczęsny dropping to third choice. Whether the plan holds may still depend on Barcelona's financial fair play position and their ability to register him within La Liga's spending limits.
Livaković declined to be drawn on his role on arrival.
"We'll see," he said when asked directly about the goalkeeping pecking order. He did confirm his mood ahead of the move, however, saying he was "very happy" to be joining Barcelona.
The 31-year-old spent last season on loan at Girona from Fenerbahçe and was previously one of the standout goalkeepers of the 2022 World Cup with Croatia, where his penalty-shootout heroics helped eliminate Japan and Brazil. He had an earlier loan spell with Dinamo Zagreb before Fenerbahçe signed him permanently in 2023.
Barcelona's move for Livaković was first agreed with Fenerbahçe as a forward-planning deal, reported to be worth around €4m including add-ons, designed to have his eventual replacement for Szczęsny lined up well in advance of the Pole's contract expiring.
The club has since opted to fast-track his arrival rather than wait a year, with sporting director Deco understood to view Livaković as the more experienced option to support Joan García through a season that includes Champions League football.
Barcelona will sign Livaković to a four-year contract once the medical is completed, tying him to the club until 2030 regardless of which goalkeeping role he ultimately occupies this season.