Aston Villa have ‘suddenly appeared’ as competition to Real Madrid and Arsenal for goalkeeper Joan Garcia.
That’s according to Marca, who report that Aston Villa have explored the possibility of signing the goalkeeper as a replacement for Emiliano Martinez.
The newspaper reports that Real Madrid and Aston Villa have joined the race for Garcia, who has been courted by Arsenal since last year also.
They explain that Garcia has become ‘a true reference point’, impressing as Espanyol’s number one and earning himself plenty of admirers.
Aston Villa and Real Madrid have recently expressed their interest in him, with both facing a summer of change in their goalkeeping department. Madrid may need a replacement for Andriy Lunin, while Emiliano Martinez has been linked with a move to Saudi Arabia.
Martinez would be offered a huge contract that the Villans couldn’t match and so they’ve explored the possibility of signing Garcia as a replacement. They’ve also inquired about any firm commitments from other teams, perhaps to avoid being beaten to the signing.
Arsenal are also still in the mix after trying to sign the goalkeeper like summer, while Barcelona’s sporting director Deco is another who has inquired about him.
Juanma Lopez, the player’s agent, is playing a waiting game, preferring patience before making a decision on his client’s future. Garcia will analyse everything before making a choice.
We’d dispute that Aston Villa have ‘suddenly appeared’ as Marca state given they’ve already been named as suitors earlier this week alone. However, Unai Emery’s side appear to be in the mix and ready to compete, perhaps thanks to the doubts around Martinez.
