New reports in the Spanish media suggest Arsenal target Joan Garcia is now likely to sign for Barcelona, despite previous claims ruling it out.
Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo report that contrary to other recent reports, Barcelona are actually the frontrunners for the signing of Joan Garcia from Espanyol.
The report mentions interest from Manchester City, Arsenal, and a number of other clubs, but claims Barcelona’s offer isn’t off the table and they’re in “pole position” to make the signing.
Barcelona have reportedly offered a five-year contract with a good salary, and if Garcia approves, they’ll activate his release clause next week.
Mundo Deportivo write that Garcia and his family met with his agent Juanma Lopez to begin discussing the offers on the table on Thursday. No decision has been made, but the player’s camp appreciate Barcelona’s efforts to convince him.
Going one step further, Santi Aouna reports that Garcia is expected to give his approval to a Barcelona move, and the club are optimistic that he’ll sign. And Fabrizio Romano writes that an agreement on a long-term contract is almost done.
Matteo Moretto had previously reported that Garcia wasn’t keen on joining Barcelona, Espanyol’s big local rivals.
And Ivan Molero wrote for AS that Garcia’s camp and Espanyol sources considered the chances of a Barcelona move as ‘nil’. Yet that’s clearly not the case.
Garcia’s release clause is currently set at €25m (£21.1m), and it will only increase to €30m (£25.3m) in the final 15 days of the transfer window.
The clause would have increased to €30m immediately if Garcia had been called up by Spain this month, but Unai Simon, David Raya, and Alex Remiro were selected instead. Conversely, the clause would have dropped to ~€15m if Espanyol were relegated, but they avoided the drop on the final day.
So for now, £21m is the asking price, and it’s one that Barcelona are evidently happy to pay.