Arsenal have reportedly joined Barcelona in the race to sign Manchester City defender Eric Garcia, who is also a target for PSG.
According to a report by Spanish publication Mundo Deportivo, Eric Garcia is the subject of interest from Arsenal over a possible move in the summer transfer window. The Manchester City defender is a long-term target for Barcelona, who also face stiff competition from PSG in his pursuit.
Eric Garcia joined Manchester City from Barcelona in the summer of 2017 and has since made a great deal of progress within the club’s first-team setup. Highly rated by Pep Guardiola, the former Barcelona manager has carefully promoted the Spanish international within his squad.
Till date, the 20-year-old has turned out 31 times for Manchester City and has been touted to have a bright future at the Etihad. However, Garcia does not seem to have one at Manchester City, having refused to pen a new contract, with his current deal set to run out in the summer. His situation has alerted Barcelona for several months, with Arsenal also in his pursuit now.
At Arsenal, Mikel Arteta already has plenty of centre-backs at his disposal, despite the fact that they have parted ways with Sokratis Papastathopoulos and intend to offload Shkodran Mustafi as well. Indeed, Arteta currently has the likes of Rob Holding, David Luiz, Gabriel Magalhaes, Pablo Mari and Calum Chambers at his disposal, with William Saliba also an option once he returns from his loan spell with Nice.
With these many central defensive options already available to him, it is curious as to how the Arsenal boss will fit in another centre-back in Garcia. Nevertheless, it looks like Arteta is a fan of the young defender, having coached him at Manchester City, with Arsenal keen on signing him. As for Barcelona, their interest in Garcia has been well documented.
Barcelona have been reported to be in the market for a centre-back anyway, with Gerard Pique in the twilight of his storied career, while Samuel Umtiti has been hampered a great deal by injuries. That leaves Ronald Koeman with Clement Lenglet as the only senior centre-back at his disposal apart from youngsters Ronald Araujo and Oscar Mingueza.
While both Araujo and Mingueza have impressed a lot this season so far, Barcelona could still do with another centre-back to complete Koeman’s options. To that end, a move for Garcia has been mooted for a long time, with reports suggesting that they have even agreed personal terms with the Manchester City contract rebel. The entry of Arsenal, though, complicates matters.
Apart from Arsenal, Barcelona are also facing competition from PSG for the Spaniard. And, having ruled out the prospect of signing him this month, it really becomes the question of who will offer Garcia the most appealing project and terms. What now remains to be seen is if Arsenal and PSG can turn Garcia’s head or if he remains set on joining Barcelona in the summer.
