Barcelona will unlikely sell 22-year-old Spanish defender Eric Garcia, a target for Arsenal unless FFP implications force them to.
Christian Falk has told Caught Offside that Eric Garcia remains in Barcelona’s plans. The Catalan giants are counting on the 22-year-old amid his links with Arsenal. And a sale in the summer transfer window will only be possible if Financial Fair Play comes into the equation.
Falk said, “Despite rumours about Arsenal, I’m not aware of negotiations for Eric Garcia. At the moment, Barcelona are counting on him and he also had an excellent game as defensive midfielder yesterday; not time for negotiations now. Let’s see if it could change for Financial Fair Play in the summer.”
Eric Garcia is currently in his second stint with Barcelona. The youngster started his youth career at the Catalan club, spending most of his formative years in La Masia. But he took the brave decision to leave Barcelona and join Manchester City to seek regular first-team football.
The 22-year-old gradually rose through the ranks at Manchester City and became a regular under Pep Guardiola. But Garcia’s stint with the Premier League champions ended in July 2021, despite Guardiola’s best efforts. And the Spanish international rejoined Barcelona in a Bosman move.
But Garcia’s second spell with Barcelona has not gone as well as he would have envisioned. While the Spaniard is in Xavi Hernandez’s plans, the Barcelona manager does not view him as a first-choice centre-back. And the youngster has fallen down the pecking order following the arrivals of Jules Kounde and Andreas Christensen. Such a situation has captured the attention of Arsenal.
Arsenal showed interest in Garcia in the January transfer window before signing Jakub Kiwior. And the continued interest in the Barcelona defender does not make sense. That is because Mikel Arteta now has five centre-backs at his disposal, meaning Garcia will not bring much to the table.
Considering he will likely be a rotation option at Arsenal, the 22-year-old is better-served remaining at Camp Nou. And Christian Falk has suggested that Garcia is in Barcelona’s plans for the foreseeable future. So unless Financial Fair Play implications force the issue, Barcelona will unlikely sell the Spaniard.
While Garcia has managed less than 1,500 minutes of game time this season, he is seemingly not going anywhere. And despite suggestions that Barcelona might cash in on the 22-year-old, they are counting on him. But it will be interesting to see if Arsenal can turn the youngster’s head this summer.
