Man City 'Confident' Eric Garcia Will Not Cause Problems Despited Failed Barcelona Move
By Adam Aladay
Manchester City are 'confident' that centre-back Eric Garcia will not sulk after he was unable to secure a deadline day move back to Barcelona.
Despite Garcia now being in the final year of his contract, the Sky Blues stood firm in their valuation of the player and refused to drastically lower their demands. The 19-year-old has made it clear that he does not intend to sign a new deal in Manchester and is keen on a return to Barcelona, while the Catalan giants had also made the Spaniard their number one defensive target during the window.
Indeed, negotiations for him continued right up until the deadline. Barça also managed to offload the likes of Jean-Clair Todibo (on loan) to create space and help fund a potential move - but they were unable to secure his services in time.
The Telegraph now report that despite the fact Garcia has been left 'disappointed' by Man City's decision not to allow him to leave during the window,, the Premier League club are confident that he will now dwell on what could have been. Instead, they hope to see him 'buckle down'.
The report states that City were actually holding out for £18.2m despite his contract situation. While Garcia was 'hopeful' of a return to Barça on deadline day, the Sky Blues were simply unwilling to lower their valuation any further.
One well-placed source insisted that the value of keeping hold of Garcia for now is greater than the offers that were made to them for the defender. The source said: “Barça didn’t make an acceptable offer and we are very happy to keep him in our squad for his final year.
“Having Eric available for Pep [Guardiola] for this season was worth more than the offers they made. He is not a trouble maker who will sulk and be a problem.”
Garcia has made just one appearance so far in 2019/20, but wasn't involved at all for his side's 1-1 draw with Leeds last time out. Following the arrival of Ruben Dias from Benfica, Garcia's game time will likely be limited.
While Barça were very keen to bring Garcia in during the summer window, it remains to be seen whether they will make another move in January or if they will look to sign him as a free agent instead. But for now, the club are hopeful that the Spaniard will not 'sulk' and cause a problem in the short-term.