Arsenal are regarded in Spain as the strong favourites to sign Joan Garcia from Espanyol this summer, according to a report.
Sam Dean reports for The Telegraph that Arsenal are regarded by sources in Spain as the strong favourites to sign Espanyol goalkeeper Joan Garcia this summer.
Despite Espanyol’s position towards the bottom of La Liga, Garcia has been one of the standout goalkeepers in the division. The Athletic’s David Ornstein recently confirmed that Mikel Arteta is hoping to add Garcia as a backup to David Raya.
Ornstein added that sources suggest Garcia would be open to joining Arsenal, who have done a lot of work for his acquisition, but nothing is done yet.
The potential uncertainty comes from the other clubs in the race, with reports in the last few weeks suggesting that Atletico Madrid are interested.
Diego Simeone reportedly sees Garcia as the perfect long-term replacement for Jan Oblak, with Atletico considering signing the goalkeeper and loaning him back out for a year.
Ironically, it will be former Atletico chief Andrea Berta in charge of Arsenal’s attempts to rival Atletico for Garcia’s signing this summer. Berta left Atletico in January and has now officially joined the Gunners.
Garcia will be fully focused on his club’s current relegation battle, with Espanyol still just two points clear of the relegation zone with 10 games to play. But it’s clear that there’s a lot of interest in the goalkeeper, with Barcelona also linked in recent weeks.
The Gunners made a €25m (£20.8m) bid for Garcia on deadline day last summer, with the club having initially been assured that they would be able to sign Garcia for significantly less than his €30m release clause.
Once talks opened, it quickly became clear that Espanyol would only sell for the full clause, and the deal didn’t happen.