Transfer Rumors: Eric Garcia Could Return To Camp Nou If Guardiola Leaves Etihad Stadium

Eric Garcia of Manchester City has been performing well since the football restart, but his future remains uncertain. Though his deal does not run out until 2022, there is a chance he could leave Etihad Stadium if Pep Guardiola does not return. Should that happen, a club waiting in the wings to take him is Barcelona.

Since leaving La Masia academy three years ago, Garcia has cracked the first-team of Guardiola. The 19-year-old has been a regular fixture for City since Project Restart. That includes starting in Premier League matches with Liverpool and the FA Cup semi-final against Arsenal. He is also expected to start in the Champions League last-16 second leg against Real Madrid, Goal.com reported.

Seeing as how he has overtaken potentially exiting players like John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi, it hardly comes as a surprise that the Sky Blues will try their best to keep the Spanish center-back moving forward. City had plans to sit down with Garcia before the COVID-19 outbreak for a new deal. But looking ahead, seeing that happen could hinge on a prerequisite.

For City, the contract of Guardiola remains afloat. He is in the final 12 months of his deal, and there has been no update on whether he will stay on. His future could factor in Garcia's.

Guardiola previously said that he sees Garcia signing a fresh pact with the Sky Blues. However, he is not discounting the possibility of Barca getting him back to play at Camp Nou.

“I don’t have any updates. He has one more year on his contract if Barcelona want him they must call him," Guardiola said in a previous article from Goal.com. “He knows, his agent knows, his family knows that we want him. If Barcelona want him, they have to call Txiki [Begiristain].”

Though the club is confident, City cannot afford to take Garcia lightly. The club should have learned its lesson in handling Leroy Sane, someone who ended up moving to Bayern Munich.

Like most clubs, the Sky Blues are busy trying to beef up their lineup with targets such as Nathan Ake and Kalidou Koulibaly. But if they are not careful, they may end up losing their grip on the 19-year-old center-back if Garcia's future is not addressed soon.