Barcelona hit major roadblock in Joan Garcia pursuit; boost for Arsenal and Newcastle United

Barcelona fans were certainly excited on Sunday when it was reported that Espanyol goalkeeper Joan Garcia had given the green light to a move across the Catalan capital. However that idea has been contradicted.

Shortly after the news was broken, Garcia himself posted an image of himself kissing the Espanyol badge, while manager Manolo Gonzalez and Sporting Director Fran Garagarza dampened speculation of a move. Many took this as a declaration of loyalty to Espanyol, who are bitter rivals with Barcelona.

In addition, Matteo Moretto has declared that Garcia is not convinced by a move to Barcelona, and has told Espanyol as much on Monday. His preference would be to go to a Premier League club, with Arsenal, Aston Villa and Newcastle United all interested in activating his €25m release clause.

This tallies with a report from Relevo, which explains that many people close to Garcia have termed crossing the divide ‘impossible’. They add Manchester City and Bournemouth to his list of suitors. However it is noted that there is another voice in his mind that suggests Barcelona might be the best option. They do have a fluid relationship with his agents too, who also have Dani Olmo and Mikayil Faye on their books.

Garcia’s priority will be to play, and there had been some suggestion that he could be loaned to Valencia next season if he did sign for Barcelona. Ramon Salmurri of Catalunya Radio says that the Blaugrana are willing to make him number one though, and there are reasons a move could make sense for him.

He would be able to remain in the same city, joining a team on the rise, and where he would be in pole position to fight for the number one spot in the Spain side – Garcia was left out of Luis de la Fuente’s squad on Monday. With Marc-Andre ter Stegen now 33, and Wojciech Szczesny a stop-gap, the path is clear for Garcia to become the long-term number one too.