What’s the story?
According to Pep Guardiola, Manchester City are set to sign Eric Garcia from Barcelona this summer with a deal set to cost the Premier League club a transfer fee that is approximately €2m. Garcia is a 16-year-old La Masia academy talent and plays as a centre-back.
Guardiola was speaking to TV3 when he confirmed that Garcia had signed a long-term contract with the English club. Garcia is said to be one of the best players in the academy and losing him deals a huge blow to the La Liga club.
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“We had very good reports, but I haven’t been lucky enough to see him play yet,” Guardiola said.
“They spoke highly to me about him and we had the opportunity to sign him. He wanted to take this step and the club has given it.”
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Garcia first joined the club back in 2009, turning out for the U-9s. But it wasn’t until he started playing for the U-14s that he started to stand out among the crowd. Many who have watched him play rate him as the best young centre-back in La Masia.
His style of play and his stature have earned him comparisons with Gerard Pique. Garcia is comfortable with the ball at his feet and has a good passing range. In terms of his leadership qualities and determination, he has also been compared to Carles Puyol – who incidentally represents the player.
Also read: 5 reasons why Manchester City should sign Alexis Sanchez
The heart of the matter
One of the main reasons Garcia is moving to City is that he had been promised first team football by his second year while Barcelona only promised him appearances with the Juvenil B (Barcelona’s U-19B team). It is understood that City also offered a better contract in terms of wages.
Ultimately, Garcia decided that a move to City was a better move in not only a financial sense but also from a sporting perspective.
Video: Eric Garcia highlights
Author’s take
This move represents a major coup for Manchester City who truly are building a team for the future by identifying raw talents. It also looks like a good move for the player who will benefit from playing under Guardiola in the future.
However, the move also puts La Masia under scrutiny for allowing a foreign club to prise away one of its greatest talents. A few young players are not convinced that La Masia is the right place to develop and clubs like City have a robust project to develop youth players – especially the Elite Development Squad (U-21 and reserves).
