Barcelona are expected to have a very busy summer transfer window, despite their ongoing financial woes. Plans have been drawn up for at least three signings, with key additions being a new left-back to challenge Alejandro Balde, another midfielder and a new left winger.
A pivot is desperately needed by Barcelona, although the likelihood is that they will once again be unable to splash out the big bucks to sign one, as was the case last summer. On that occasion, they signed Oriol Romeu, and it could end up being that they go to Girona again to fix their midfield problem.
Aleix Garcia has been one of the best midfielders in La Liga this season. He has played a large role in Michel Sanchez’s side being just two points off Real Madrid at the top of the table at this current stage, something that would have been completely unimaginable at the start of the campaign.
Because of these performances, Garcia earns a call-up to Spanish national team earlier in the season, and he will have one eye on securing a place at Euro 2024. With this in mind, it could be a huge summer for him, especially if Barcelona do come knocking, which is expected to be the case.
Barcelona believe that they can sign Garcia for around €15m, although they hope to lower the cost of the operation by including players, such as Romeu, Eric Garcia and Pablo Torre – the latter pair are currently on loan at Girona. If they can pull of a deal, there’s no doubt that it would be a fantastic piece of business, especially at such a low price.
However, as good as a deal for Garcia would be, it shouldn’t be Barcelona and Deco’s priority in terms of a midfield signing. A natural pivot is essential, that’s an absolute certainty. Yes, Garcia has played that role for Girona all season, but he’s not a natural DM, and the likelihood is that he would be more exposed in the role at Barcelona compared to Girona.
Furthermore, there is a strong claim to say that Garcia isn’t overly needed anyway, as Barcelona have Frenkie de Jong, Pedri, Gavi and Ilkay Gundogan as quality central midfielders, on top of youngsters like Torre and Fermin Lopez. Still, at the price quoted, they would be foolish not to sign Garcia – as long as it doesn’t interfere with the DM search.
It does look likely that Barcelona will try to sign Garcia in the summer, and it would be a very good move. However, a DM is also a necessity, and that could take precedence over anything else.
Fixing the weak spots is going to be difficult enough without buying a CM that club don’t need. I know the club have a soft spot for central midfielders, and there’s a shiny new object every year that they just have to have. Now is just not the time to entertain bringing in a new one, however. Hopefully they can stay focused and work on the areas where they don’t already have four or five starting caliber players.