It’s never ideal for any team if they start to face competition for someone’s signature, but it’s a nightmare if their target is suddenly part of a swap transfer with someone else.
Gianluca Di Marzio has reported on the latest with Man City defender Eric Garcia, and it appears that he could be an important part of the deal that brings Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly to Manchester.
Barcelona desperately need to find the long term successor for Gerard Pique and Garcia looked like an ideal candidate, while The Sun recently reported that Barca were in talks over his transfer and hoped to conclude the deal soon.
READ MORE: Report suggests what Man City need to happen to sign Messi after he holds talks with Pep Guardiola
The problem they have now is that the reports from Italy claim that Garcia will be offered in exchange to Napoli to allow Koulibaly to move to The Eithad, so that will prevent him from going to the Nou Camp.
They go on to point out that Napoli thought they were going to sign Gabriel Magalhaes as a replacement, but he now looks set to go to Arsenal instead.
It sounds like City won’t be able to sign the defender unless Napoli get a replacement, which makes Eric Garcia a vital part of the deal.
It also suggests that it doesn’t matter how much money Barca offer because selling him to the Nou Camp could then scupper the deal for Koulibaly, so it does sound like Barca will need to look elsewhere.