Barcelona will not part ways with 22-year-old defender, Xavi counts on him

Over the past couple of days, there have been some murmurs about the future of Eric Garcia at FC Barcelona.

With manager Xavi Hernandez having a plethora of centre-back options at his disposal, it had raised questions over the 22-year-old La Masia trainee’s role and the minutes he would have.

Amidst this, reports had claimed that Barça’s Catalan rivals, Girona, had shown an interest in signing Eric to reinforce their defence and pivot midfield positions.

Meanwhile, Arsenal were also said to be contemplating a loan move for the youngster following the injury to Jurrien Timber.

Eric Garcia going nowhere

However, Gabriel Sans of Mundo Deportivo has now claimed that Barcelona are not contemplating the idea of parting ways with Garcia in the final days of the window.

While it is true that Xavi has five central defenders at his disposal and Garcia might not have a prominent role as a result, neither the manager nor the player wishes for a separation.

In fact, club sources have told the publication that they are unaware of any interest and there will be no movement as far as the former Manchester City starlet is concerned.

Xavi counts on Garcia

Xavi does not want to offload Garcia, especially at a time when Ronald Araujo is injured and Inigo Martinez is still recovering from his injury from last season.

The 22-year-old, for his part, would not be opposed to joining Girona, but is happy at Barça despite his role and believes that he can gain prominence in the team.

The report states that Xavi and Garcia have already had a discussion about his situation and future in the recent past with the manager making it clear to the youngster that he counts on him.

No more changes to defence

Furthermore, in an alternate report, Gabriel Sans writes that apart from Joao Cancelo’s impending addition and the departure of Clement Lenglet, Xavi does not wish to see any more changes to his defensive department.

It reinforces the thought that the manager wants Garcia to stay, as well as Marcos Alonso, who had also been linked with an exit recently.

The report adds that Garcia’s loan exit would not generate much in terms of Fair Play margin either, and as such, the club would prefer having him in the team.