Barcelona defensive duo staring at an uncertain future at the club

As we get closer and closer to the final phase of the 2022/23 season, Barcelona have started formulating their plans for the summer transfer window as they look to make necessary adjustments to their squad so that they can register pending contracts and sign new players.

Sergi Sole of Mundo Deportivo has come up with a detailed report on the transfer activities and strategies Barcelona are planning ahead of the summer window.

As per the report, the Catalan giants have ten players who are regarded as unsellable at any cost in the summer.

At the same time, though, there are a few stars who are staring at uncertain futures at the club, with Jordi Alba and Eric Garcia among those players.

Alba has a contract with Barcelona that runs until 2024. However, his wages for next season will skyrocket to around €38 million owing to deferred payments from the past.

The Catalans are planning to negotiate a downward renewal or a direct salary reduction with the veteran left-back. But, in case an agreement is not reached, it is not ruled out that the club will look to offload him, especially considering that he is no longer a regular in Xavi’s plans.

As for Eric Garcia, he is currently the fifth-choice centre-back at Camp Nou behind Jules Kounde, Andreas Christensen, Ronald Araujo, and even Marcos Alonso. With Inigo Martinez likely to arrive in the summer, his situation is unlikely to improve.

But recent reports suggested that Xavi and his staff want to keep hold of Eric and convert him into a pivot midfielder for next season. However, given that he arrived for free, any transfer fee that Barcelona get for him would go down as profits in the books and hence a sale is not ruled out if a good offer arrives.

Apart from Alba and Garcia, Sergio Busquets’ future is also not clear, although it is expected that he will sign a new contract. Forwards such as Ferran Torres and Ansu Fati could also be sold for good offers while Franck Kessie could also be sacrificed to make room for new arrivals.