Barcelona are reportedly close to completing the signing of Eric Garcia after offering Manchester City an updated bid of €14 million.
According to a report by Daily Mail, Barcelona have updated their bid for Eric Garcia, offering Manchester City €14 million, as Ronald Koeman looks to prise the Spanish defender back to Camp Nou before Monday’s transfer deadline.
Garcia joined Manchester City at the age of 17, moving from none other than Barcelona themselves. A huge catalyst in this transfer was club legend and compatriot Carles Puyol, who is Garcia’s agent and a close friend of Pep Guardiola.
Despite the early move, the Spaniard was unable to make his Premier League debut until the 2019/20 season, raking in 20 minutes in the 8-0 thrashing of Watford. He has since gone on to make 13 league appearances including eight starts and was a crucial part of the Manchester City sde after the resumption of the Premier League.
Garcia may have only received his big breakthrough this past season, but he has been knocking on Guardiola’s door for a couple of years now and had featured in the Carabao Cup last year against Leicester City and Burton Albion. He was also part of the Manchester United starting XI which became the victim of their Champions League quarter-final exit against Lyon.
His performances have caught the eye of Barcelona, who were always hesitant to sell him in the first place, but were forced to when the player felt he could have better chances under Guardiola. Now that the former Barcelona boss has just one year left on his contract and his future is in question, it is understandable why Garcia does not want to extend his contract with Manchester City.
Barcelona have already undergone a considerable rebuild, selling the likes of Luis Suarez, Arturo Vidal, Ivan Rakitic, Nelson Semedo, Arda Turan, Marc Cucurella, Carles Perez and Arthur. They have bought in several players as well, including latest signing Sergino Dest from Ajax.
The Blaugrana, however, in words of Ronald Koeman himself, are still short-handed in two departments of the starting XI – centre backs and strikers. The Barcelona manager also went on record to officially state, “There is plenty of interest, but I don’t know if we will be able to sign him.” when asked about the Manchester City defender.
Ronald Koeman just confirmed that “we want Eric Garcia here”. Barça are preparing their last bid to Manchester City – still working to sell Jean Clair Todibo. #FCB have a total agreement with Eric on personal terms to sign him right now or on June 2021 as a free agent. ?? #MCFC
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) October 3, 2020
Jean-Claire Todibo’s stay at Barcelona is also directly linked with Garcia’s arrival. If Fulham, who tabled an €18 million offer for the Frenchman, are able to complete the signing, it would be fair to predict that Garcia’s transfer back to Spain would be inevitable. However, with just two days remaining in the transfer window, it will be interesting to see how this deal unfolds.
