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Pep Guardiola confirms Manchester City star is set to join Barcelona

By Rohan Sengupta

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 27: A dejected Eric Garcia of Manchester City at full time of the Premier League match between Manchester City and Leicester City at Etihad Stadium on September 27, 2020 in Manchester, United Kingdom. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by James Williamson - AMA/Getty Images)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 27: A dejected Eric Garcia of Manchester City at full time of the Premier League match between Manchester City and Leicester City at Etihad Stadium on September 27, 2020 in Manchester, United Kingdom. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by James Williamson - AMA/Getty Images) /
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Pep Guardiola has confirmed after Manchester City’s Carabao Cup victory over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday that defender Eric Garcia is likely to join LaLiga giants Barcelona this summer.

Eric Garcia, 20, has been heavily linked with a move to Barcelona since last summer, with his contract at Manchester City expiring at the end of the ongoing campaign. With the defender rejecting a new deal last August, it is widely expected he’ll leave the Etihad Stadium on a free transfer.

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Praising the Spaniard’s attitude despite his lack of game time this season, Pep Guardiola has revealed Eric Garcia is close to sealing a move to Barcelona—the club where the defender spent nine years in their famed La Masia academy before joining City in 2017.

"“Eric Garcia is one of my favourite players,” Guardiola told in his post-match press conference following City’s victory over Tottenham in the Carabao Cup final at the Wembley Stadium. “I would love to have 15 Eric Garcias. He’s not on the bench because I think he’s going to move to Barcelona.”"

Source: Marca

Eric Garcia looked like becoming a key cog in Manchester City’s defence after having apparently cemented his place in Guardiola’s starting XI at the back end of 2019/20 campaign. He made 25 appearances across all competitions, including 13 Premier League appearances, in what was his breakthrough campaign at the Etihad Stadium.

However, the big-money summer signings of Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake, coupled with John Stones’ revival, has seen the 20-year-old defender fall down the pecking order. Dias has been a revelation for the Cityzens since joining from Benfica, forming a formidable partnership with John Stones at the heart of the defence that has leaked only 24 goals in 33 games. This has limited the highly-rated Garcia to a paltry 10 appearances in all formats this term, which includes just four Premier League outings to date.

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Garcia is a talented defender who has a big future ahead of him. Even though he’s not played much this season, the youngster has continued to be called up to the Spanish national team squad. That just tells how highly he’s rated in the continent, and at the age of 20, the centre-back needs to play regularly which looks highly unlikely to happen at City considering the presence of experienced defenders like Ruben Dias, John Stones, Aymeric Laporte and Nathan Ake.

Thus, a move back to Barcelona is certainly appealing for Garcia and the young gun must not hesitate to leave City at the end of the season.

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