Barcelona want their former youth back from Manchester City

Barcelona explores former La Masia graduate, Eric Garcia, at Manchester City.

Barcelona are closely monitoring the situation of their former youth at Manchester City, Eric Garcia. They are looking for a new defender this summer and reports claim that the former graduate could be the answer.

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ESPN reports that Manchester City were quick to reject Barca’s enquiry for the player as they are not considering Garcia for a sale this summer. City boss and Former Blaugrana coach, Pep Guardiola, is fond of the Spaniard and would like to keep a hold of him despite the club’s efforts of signing a new defender this summer.

"“Eric’s an incredible kid, capable of leading the whole defence. He’s intelligent, plays with focus and plays well. He will get a lot of minutes,” Guardiola said.Source Sport"

They want Garcia to be involved with the first-team next season but the growing uncertainty about Pep’s future at the club has also triggered unpredictability over the player’s role at the club. The 19-year-old has two years remaining in his current contract which places him in a strong position to negotiate over his future.

Barca used this knowledge to enquire about the youngster’s availability as they are also in the market for a center-back. The Catalan giants are already in contact with the Premier League club for a swap deal between two Portuguese nationals, Joao Cancelo and Nelson Semedo.

Garcia left the Nou Camp in 2017 to join Guardiola’s City despite being regarded by many as the most promising defender at La Masia. The Spanish international felt that joining Pep would drastically improve his development and he was not wrong. He has made 6 league appearances for the first-team this season while also playing a match against Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League.

Barcelona are desperately in search of a new center-back who can take over Gerard Pique, 33 years of age, either for a short or a long term. The Catalans are targetting Matthijs de Ligt for this purpose but also have to cater to their current financial budget which will not allow the signings of multiple big names.

Should Barca push hard for the former youngster?