- Barcelona are in discussions with Manchester City for former youth academy player Eric Garcia.
- Garcia wants to leave the club and move back to Spain; he has one year left on his contract.
Manchester City centre-back Eric Garcia wants to move to Barcelona according to reputed journalist Guillem Balague.
Eric Garcia has been linked with a move to Barcelona for some weeks now. Initially, it was reported that Barcelona’s advances had been turned down.
Barcelona in talks with Manchester City for Garcia
Barcelona are said to be in talks with Manchester City for Garcia. The centre-back only has one year left on his contract, and Manchester City are aware he could leave on a free next summer. Garcia wants to move to Barcelona and personal details have already been agreed between the player and the club.
Barcelona are now discussing the transfer fee for the Spaniard. Garcia began his career in Barcelona, before moving to Manchester City in 2017. The 19-year old is highly-rated by manager Pep Guardiola, who sees him as a future starting centre-back for the club.
Garcia has already made his debut for City. This season the Spain U21 international has made 14 appearances for the club in all competitions. He has looked the part, putting in some good performances.
Getting Garcia would be a much-needed boost for Barcelona’s defence. The Catalans have a good centre-back partnership of Gerard Pique and Clement Lenglet. However, they have no strength and depth in that position.
Samuel Umtiti’s persistent injuries and consequent performances have resulted in him being linked with a move away. Other than that, Barcelona have no centre-backs. Frenkie de Jong can play there, although that is not his best position.
As such, a move for Garcia would make sense. This would also result in disgruntled fans being appeased for Garcia was a La Masia youth player. Because he just has a year left in his contract, it won’t cost Barcelona an arm and a leg to get him out of the club.
Eric Garcia is set to snub Barcelona and sign a new five-year #ManCity deal, taking his £12,000-a-week wages to £40,000-a-week plus bonuses.
[@Journo_Slash] pic.twitter.com/NGg79JjPvB
— City Xtra (@City_Xtra) July 3, 2020
The Camp Nou outfit are in dire need of reinforcements. However, due to financial limitations, the club is looking to structure deals for their targets creatively. They have already swapped their 23-year old midfielder Arthur for Juventus’ 30-year old midfielder Miralem Pjanic. Rumours suggest that they are also looking to bring back Neymar. Barcelona would be willing to swap Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele for the Brazilian superstar, according to reports.
Although the club’s primary target is Inter Milan’s young striker Lautaro Martinez. The Argentine is seen as the ideal replacement for the ageing Luis Suarez. Martinez’s €111 million release clause with Inter Milan expired a few days ago. Despite that, Barcelona are hopeful that a deal can be struck between the two clubs.
The Catalans have also been linked with moves for Tottenham Hotspur’s Tanguy Ndombele and Ryan Sessegnon. Barcelona are again reportedly willing to discuss player swaps to bring the two players to Camp Nou. However, Spurs have rejected Barcelona’s advances.
The Spanish giants have been facing financial problems for some time now. Rumours have suggested that the club might ask its players to take a further wage cut to help with the problem.
