Barcelona have been handed a boost in pursuit of Eric Garcia after Pep Guardiola confirmed that the youngster will not sign a new deal with Manchester City.
As quoted by Sky Sports, Pep Guardiola has confirmed that Eric Garcia’s time at Manchester City could be coming to an end soon. The 19-year-old has rejected a new deal with the former Premier League champions and is edging closer to a return to Barcelona, who are his preferred option.
Eric Garcia joined Manchester City from Barcelona in the summer of 2017, with a pathway to the Blaugrana’s first-team setup looking unclear. At City, the teenager has been integrated slowly into the senior side, making his debut midway through last season in the Carabao Cup.
Since then, Garcia has gone on to amass 21 further appearances for Manchester City, with 19 of those coming in the ongoing campaign. In fact, the 19-year-old has featured quite heavily since the resumption of football in June, being involved in 8 of the 12 Premier League games that City played in the period. But, it now looks like his time at the club is reaching its end.
Pep confirmed that young prospect Eric Garcia wants out at City ? pic.twitter.com/hfjLYTu51I
— B/R Football (@brfootball) August 6, 2020
With Garcia’s deal set to run out next summer, Manchester City have been eager to tie him down to a new long-term contract. However, his uncertain situation at the Etihad has also made him a target for prospective suitors, with former club Barcelona making him a priority for the summer.
It was initially reported that Manchester City were in no mood to do business with Barcelona for the 19-year-old and had rejected an enquiry by the Catalans. However, the former La Liga champions have been handed a boost in his pursuit, with Pep Guardiola confirming that Garcia will not sign a new deal with the Citizens.
“He has one more year and after that, he doesn’t want to extend. We want it but he doesn’t want to, so I imagine he wants to play in another place,” Guardiola confirmed on Thursday. A move for Garcia does make sense for Barcelona.
At Camp Nou, Quique Setien currently has Gerard Pique, Clement Lenglet, Samuel Umtiti and Ronald Araujo at his disposal, as far as centre-backs are concerned. However, while Pique is on the wrong side of 30 and approaching the twilight of his career, Umtiti’s regression means he ought to be surplus to requirements at Barcelona.
So, it is clear that signing Garcia is a step in the right direction for the Blaugrana, seeing as the 19-year-old could battle Araujo in taking over from Pique in the coming years. And, it seems like Manchester City are now ready to do business with Barcelona for him, withBBC reporting that City want a fee that will amount to £30 million including variables.
In fact, their report also claims that Manchester City will not part ways with Garcia unless their asking price is met. Meanwhile, Mundo Deportivo has claimed that Barcelona are only willing to pay around £18 million in base fee for the player.
Garcia’s preference is returning to Barcelona, as per the reliable Fabrizio Romano and what now remains to be seen is if Barcelona and Manchester City reach an agreement over a transfer fee, with a summer move looking likely.
