Barcelona are ready to return with an offer of £7 million for Manchester City defender Eric Garcia, whose contract expires in the summer.
According to Mirror, FC Barcelona could make their final attempt to sign Eric Garcia this January as they weigh up a potential £7 million bid. The Manchester City defender has been linked with a move to Catalonia since the summer transfer window, though the Premier League giants did block an exit.
Garcia himself was keen on returning to Barcelona, having previously been a member of the famed La Masia youth academy. Unfortunately for the Spanish giants, their reported offer of £9 million was just not enough for Manchester City, even though the player’s contract expires at the end of the ongoing campaign.
It essentially means that Barcelona could secure his services on a free transfer next summer. From Manchester City’s perspective, however, blocking Garcia’s transfer was a bizarre move as the player himself was desperate to rejoin the club. In addition, the Sky Blues also managed to sign Ruben Dias on a big-money deal, meaning they no dot have a dearth of options at centre-back.
The Portuguese international is already looking like a good buy, having showcased some good understanding with Aymeric Laporte, though their performances have been marred by a disappointing collective display that led to an underwhelming start to the campaign for Manchester City this season.
As for Barcelona, their crisis in the defensive unit means they might not be able to afford to wait until next summer to secure the services of Garcia.
With Samuel Umtiti struggling with injuries and Gerard Pique being in the final stage of his career, the Blaugrana only have one reliable long-term option in central defence, in the form of Clement Lenglet. Ronald Araujo is an exciting youngster but lacks the experience and is yet to prove himself at the highest level of football.
The addition of Garcia, in that regard, especially in January, could serve as a massive boon for Ronald Koeman. The Spaniard is also quite inexperienced at the highest stage but his style of play, that usually revolves around ball distribution and positional awareness, fits in better in the Barcelona defence.
Koeman is already desperate to find someone who can provide a bit of intelligence in an otherwise erratic and irresponsible Barcelona backline. Garcia could emerge as that player, although it remains to be seen whether or not Man City will be willing to offload their defender for a cut-price in the upcoming January transfer window.
