Barcelona Exploring Centre Back Loans if Eric Garcia Remains at Man City
By Tom Gott
Barcelona are looking at a number of loan signings to add some extra depth at centre back if they are unable to convince Manchester City to part ways with Eric Garcia in January.
19-year-old Garcia has already expressed a desire to leave City when his contract expires at the end of the season, with a move to Barcelona right at the top of his wish list, but City are reluctant to let him walk away for cheap.
Barça are rumoured to be readying a bid of around £7m to sign Garcia in January, but they are happy to sit back and wait until the summer and sign him for free.
However, the problem with waiting an extra six months is Barcelona don't exactly have the best depth at centre back. Gerard Pique, Clement Lenglet and 21-year-old Ronald Araujo are the only options at the minute, and Sport believe Barcelona have drawn up a list of potential alternatives who could be brought in on loan as temporary alternatives.
One name near the top of the wish list is Chelsea's Antonio Rudiger, who has only recently played his way back into Frank Lampard's plans at Stamford Bridge. The German is yet to play a minute in the Premier League this season and is said to be keen on moving to Barcelona.
Away from Rudiger, most of Barcelona's plans revolve around finding somebody who comes with La Liga experience, bringing back terrifying memories of the signing of Kevin-Prince Boateng as an emergency striker in 2019.
Roma's Federico Fazio, Fiorentina's German Pezzella and AC Milan's Mateo Musacchio are all on the radar, and it's thought that all would be available for the right offer. The same can be said of Arsenal's Shkodran Mustafi, who showed the best form of his career during his time with Valencia between 2014 and 2016.
One player who will not be coming is Liverpool's Joel Matip. The third choice centre back at Anfield just a few months ago, Matip is now the first name on Jurgen Klopp's team sheet after both Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez were ruled out with long-term injuries.
Barcelona are adamant that any new signing must be experienced and available for a low cost on a six-month loan, with a permanent move at the end of the season not expected, but not officially ruled out either.
As of now, the focus is still on Garcia, but it's seen as 'unlikely' that the Spaniard will make the move to Camp Nou in January.