Pep’s Intersection: Barcelona want Angelino and Eric Garcia while Man City are set to swoop in for Lautaro Martinez

Deepak Selvan 5 years ago

Pep Guardiola

Pep Guardiola’s former club Barcelona and current club Manchester City are at an intersection with the Catalan giants planning to move for City’s Eric Garcia and Angelino. Both clubs are also interested in capturing the signature of Inter’s Lautaro Martinez.

New boss Ronald Koeman views Angelino as the perfect player for Barcelona. The Man City left-back impressed on loan at RB Leipzig, where he helped the German club reach the semi-finals of the Champions League. The attacking left-back is a brilliant crosser of the ball and is viewed by the Catalan boss as solid enough at the back to compete with the Blaugrana’s current first choice left-back Jordi Alba.

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RB Leipzig missed the opportunity to convert Angelino’s loan move into a permanent deal in the hopes of negotiating a cheaper deal for the player but the German club could now rue that decision. With Barcelona’s reported interest, Man City will hold out for €30m from interested parties to part ways with Angelino.

Barcelona have already enquired Manchester City about the possibility of signing the centre-back Eric Garcia. The 19 year old has made a breakthrough into the Man City first team this season and the Catalan club view him as a potential successor to Gerard Pique.

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Pep Guardiola recently confirmed the player has turned down a new contract and wants to leave, amidst interest from his boyhood club. However, both clubs do not agree on the valuation for the player. Barcelona value the player at €15m as he has just 1 year left on the contract while Man City want €30m for Eric Garcia – a player with tremendous potential.

Man City paid Spanish side Valencia €25 million excluding add-ons for Ferran Torres who also had just 1 year left on his contract. Man City view their valuation as fair in the current market and would consider retaining the player for 1 more season if Barcelona do not increase their bid substantially even though they have already signed Nathan Ake and are closing in on Napoli’s Koulibaly.

Both Barcelona and Man City are preparing to rival each other for Inter’s Lautaro Martinez. The Argentine striker scored 21 goals in his 49 appearances for Antonio Conte’s side this season across all competitions.

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At just 23 years old, the player has his best years ahead of him and both Barcelona and Man City view him as an ideal successor for Luis Suarez and Sergio Aguero with both strikers in the twilight of their careers.

The Inter Milan striker has a release-clause of €111m but both Barcelona and Man City believe they can get the striker for a cheaper price. Manchester City are prepared to spend as much as €90m to bring the Argentine to the Etihad Stadium, as per the Sun. The report also claims Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola views Lautaro Martinez as the heir to the club’s all-time leading goal-scorer Sergio Aguero.

Deepak Selvan

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Deepak Selvan is the Chief Football Correspondent at LosMejor. He writes about the Premier League, Champions League and the complicated financial affairs in European and World Football.