Eric Garcia to Barcelona

[FCBarca]

Ronald Araujo and Oscar Mingueza has lessened the immediate need for Garcia.

Definitely. Araujo there were already signs to be optimistic about his 1st team integration from last season. Mingueza was a surprise owing to Pique's injury but central defense is not a concern atm

Todibo is a wildcard but likely still to be on the market

It means that going forward the depth will be Lenglet, Araujo, Mingueza, Pique & Garcia - 4/5 from La Masia and 3 of them Catalan. Not bad

 

[damrider]

If we get even 5 million from barca for our 7th choice center back, i'd say it's a pretty good deal.

Adios.

Seriously though, I have to admit I always thought he was really overrated. When he first started getting minutes for us he didn't really show anything, and has yet to have a positive standout performance for us ever since. I don't know what youth coach saw this short, slow, terrible awareness, awful reading of the game, dreadful positioning weak lad and decided they should be a centerback. Does not have a single good attribute that would make me see him as a potentially good CB.

 

[moh]

If we get even 5 million from barca for our 7th choice center back, i'd say it's a pretty good deal.

Adios.

Seriously though, I have to admit I always thought he was really overrated. When he first started getting minutes for us he didn't really show anything, and has yet to have a positive standout performance for us ever since. I don't know what youth coach saw this short, slow, terrible awareness, awful reading of the game, dreadful positioning weak lad and decided they should be a centerback. Does not have a single good attribute that would make me see him as a potentially good CB.

God it really is all about opinions isn’t it. Whenever I watch him I see the opposite. A small player who doesn’t need physicality because his positioning and sense of danger is so good. Body shape always right. Decent passer of the ball, goes off both feet. Technically he is very very good IMO. Might not be first team standard now but there is a very very good player in there I think

 

[LesBleuMiserable]

I highly believe the reports were utter mince. They came from barcelona mouthpeice outlets in an effort to portray City as being the petty party to put pressure on both the club to accept barcelona's 'reasonable' offer, and on the player to ruffle feathers.

The reports from outlets linked to city were that it was less than €10m, with €5m in 'unachevable' bonuses, and circa €3m in 'difficult' bonuses. So, really not €18m that we turned down.

Considering the club decided to value him at £20m up front pre bonuses, and publicly stated so, (and imho that is a fair valuation in today's market, for a top european club to expect to pay for one of their own) it was frankly a pisstake of an offer, and righly so they ended up flat.

What the club is or isn't willing to avcept now, different discussion. But im 100% comfortable with what the club decided in the summer.

It will teach them not to take the mickey in future dealings even if Garcia goes on a free. Our conduct hopefully noted by anyone else wanting to do deals with us.

 

[damrider]

God it really is all about opinions isn’t it. Whenever I watch him I see the opposite. A small player who doesn’t need physicality because his positioning and sense of danger is so good. Body shape always right. Decent passer of the ball, goes off both feet. Technically he is very very good IMO. Might not be first team standard now but there is a very very good player in there I think

Wow. His positioning is always good? Body shape always right? That's incredible how I see literally the exact opposite every time I watch him.

 

[nyCITY]

Why not just think about the summer transfer saga from City’s standpoint? Here is where we were at the time:

CB on the squad were:
LaPorte
Ottamendi
Stones
Garcia
Ake

We were just eliminated from UCL by Lyon after the defense was carved open.

Ottamendi and Stones were both considered barely serviceable at the time, as evidenced by Fernandinho and Rodri both playing CB.

LaPorte had missed 30 games from a knee injury

Ake had never played a minute with the first team.

The team were reportedly missing on all of their CB targets (Khoulibaly, Kounde et al)

Dias/Ottamendi swap wasnt til deadline day.

Given that info at that time, it seems to me that City didn’t have a very clear idea of how the defense was going to play. That situation was exacerbated by the pandemic and our truncated pre-season.

I think City management probably thought keeping him around for the year in order to ensure some continuity was a worth whatever forgone fees they might've been able to get; especially since he was regularly starting.

 

[BlueMoonz1977]

I think with Garcia, our defence at the time was leaking like a sieve

In he came and did okay, but it got blown out of proportion about how good he actually was because of the issues we had back then

Not a chance he would get a game now

 

[nyCITY]

The magical economics of the Txiki/Soriano duo.

They should really write an economics book, would be a best seller.

Soriano did, and it’s pretty interesting if you want to understand top of the house decision making at a major club:

 

[nyCITY]

I think with Garcia, our defence at the time was leaking like a sieve

In he came and did okay, but it got blown out of proportion about how good he actually was because of the issues we had back then

Not a chance he would get a game now

Right, but at the time the options were pretty limited and he was considered preferable to Stones, Ottamendi etc. No way they could've known Dias and Stones were going to form the best CB pairing in club football this season.

 

[Dicko69]

Soriano did, and it’s pretty interesting if you want to understand top of the house decision making at a major club:

$80 is he trying to recoup the Fernando money