The financial situation at Barcelona has prevented them from making too many transfers and in fact their massive debt has also made it impossible to pay their player’s full salary. However, one player whom the club has been trying to attain for months, Eric Garcia, was almost as good as confirmed. Now it looks like that may not be the case as Arsenal are trying to make a last-minute deal in order to steal the player from underneath Koeman’s nose.
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Ronald Koeman made a lot of transfer requests in the summer transfer window. The team that he inherited from Quique Setien was an aging team and Koeman wanted to fill the team with life by bringing in some youth players. He wanted to bring in Sergino Dest as well as Garcia and while they could make the deal with Ajax for Dest, Manchester City were not willing to sell their player.
However, Garcia’s heart was set on returning to Barcelona and with his contract running out, he can join his home club on a free transfer. City would not like to lose him out for free and has decided to accept as low as 3 million euros bid for the player. This excellent news for the Catalans however, out of nowhere, Arsenal has also joined the race for the player.
Mikel Arteta who knows very well about Garcia’s potential from his time under Pep Guardiola has decided that the player will fit his philosophy. Arteta is not the only threat either as Paris Saint-Germain has also shown their interest for the youngster. This is getting a bit troublesome for Barcelona as they will not be able to match a bid with PSG.
Still, Koeman should not worry as the player is not looking to join big clubs. He is homesick and wants to return home and play for his boyhood club. He has even agreed to play without his salary for the first six months according to presidential candidate, Victor Font. This shows his passion for the Catalans and thus undoubtedly, he will join the club.