Barcelona are about to announce the signing of Eric Garcia from Manchester City, report Mundo Deportivo on Sunday. It’s all part of their plan to pressure the Premier League club into accepting a move in the January window.
Garcia’s contract with Pep Guardiola’s side expires at the end of June, and he’s already informed City he won’t be signing a new one. From January he can sign a pre-contract agreement with Barcelona, and it’s thought the terms of that have been long agreed.
At the beginning of January, the Catalan club will announce Garcia’s signing as a free agent, for him to arrive in the summer, and then try to pressure Manchester City to let him move in the winter market for what would be a knocked down fee.
Barcelona have been in ‘constant contact’ with the defender’s agent Iván de la Peña and they tried to build a deal last summer, with Garcia left ‘very upset’ when it became clear he’d be staying in Manchester.
Despite the Blaugrana’s strength in January negotiations, given the contract expiring, their weakness, a very poor financial situation, means they may not be able to come to an agreement with Manchester City, so Garcia may have to wait until his contract expires.It’s a similar situation with Memphis Depay and Barcelona.
