Inter Milan ready to sign Barcelona star who is not in Xavi's plans - Reports

Inter Milan are reportedly ready to sign Barcelona's Eric Garcia, who has failed to cement his position in Xavi Hernandez's plans.

The Spaniard was signed on a free transfer from Manchester City in July 2021 with great hope. But he has not progressed at the level Barca would have wanted him to and has fallen to the bottom of the pecking order under Xavi.

According to SPORT (h/t El Nacional), Inter Milan have met Barca multiple times and discussed the prospect of signing Garcia. The Blaugrana club would want to sell him for a fee between €10 to €15 million.

Inter, however, do not want to buy the 22-year-old centre-back permanently — at least not straight away. A loan move with an option to buy could appeal to I Nerazzurri, who are set to lose Milan Skriniar to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) this summer.

Garcia, whose contract runs until June 2026, apparently wants to stay at Spotify Camp Nou and is aware that he could have to fight for playing time. Barcelona saw the back of Gerard Pique last season but still have Ronald Araujo, Jules Kounde and Andreas Christensen on their books.

Clement Lenglet could return to Barcelona next month at the end of his season-long loan spell at Tottenham Hotspur while Inigo Martinez will reportedly be added to their squad. Garcia's struggle to cement himself as a first-choice defender has been evident.

The Spaniard was tried out as a defensive midfielder by Xavi Hernandez towards the end of the season. He finished the 2022-23 campaign with just 18 starts across competitions to his name.

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Rodri lauds Barcelona legend Sergio Busquets

Manchester City midfielder Rodri has opined that Barcelona legend Sergio Busquets is perhaps the best defensive midfielder in the history of the sport.

Busquets, 34, is set to leave the club as a free agent at the end of the month after an 18-year-long stay. During that time, he won every possible trophy at the club and international level.

Rodri plays in a similar position as Busquets so it is natural that he has been touted to be the latter's successor for Spain. But the Manchester City star wants to set a different path for himself.

Rodri said, via Europapress.es:

"Busquets has followed his path, he has marked an era both here and at his club, he has probably been the best in his position of all time, and I want to lead mine. I have been lucky to live with him, to learn from him and pick up a lot of things, but I want to lead my way in the national team."

Busquets retired from international football in December after winning 143 caps for La Roja.