According to Sport, Barcelona are interested in bringing back Eric Garcia to the club. The Manchester City defender had formerly been a member of the Barca youth academy, and it seems the Spanish giants are now keen on having him back. As part of the plan to sign Garcia, the Catalans want to get into Manchester City’s good books by arranging a straight swap deal involving Nelson Semedo and Joao Cancelo.
What can Eric Garcia bring to the table?
Garcia was poached by the Manchester City academy back in 2017. In England, he quickly rose through the youth academy before being promoted to the first team last summer. He also ended up making 18 appearances for Man City in all competitions and was involved in all but one game this month.
What makes Garcia such a valuable asset to Pep Guardiola is his technical prowess. The Spaniard is very familiar with Juego de posicion style of football and is capable of distributing possession from the back. He has notably attained an impressive pass completion rate of 92% this season.
Also, Garcia is good at reading the game, having averaged 1.4 interceptions per match in the Premier League so far. Unlike most other defenders, the 19-year-old relies heavily on his positional sense in order to clear out any attacking opportunities for the opposition. With Man City struggling with the form of John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi, Garcia is more than likely to gain a more prominent role in the first-team next season.
Is Garcia a viable target for Barcelona?
Barcelona are in desperate need of reinforcements in the defensive department given their apparent lack of depth. Indeed, the Catalans only have three viable options at centre-back in Gerard Pique, Clement Lenglet and Samuel Umtiti.
Pique is already in the final phase of his career, meaning it could be imperative for the club to sign someone who can replace the Spaniard in the long-term and that’s where Garcia could come into the fray.
As mentioned earlier, the Manchester City youngster is a technically gifted defender and should ideally fit into Barcelona’s footballing philosophy. Indeed, his ability to pass the ball out from the back as well as his excellent positioning sense make him a tailor-made alternative for Pique.
But at the same time, it is unlikely Manchester City would want to offload one of their prized assets, especially one who has just had a breakthrough in the Premier League.
Stat courtesy: Whoscored
