The arrival of Inigo Martinez, presented Thursday at the Cité Sportif Joan-Gamper, could cause a stir within FC Barcelona before the end of the summer transfer window? In addition to the Basque, the Catalan club now have five centre-backs in their squad. Known for favoring a reduced workforce, the FC Barcelona coach will have to make choices and it is Eric Garcia who could pay the price, as reported Sport this Friday. Among the five defenders mentioned above, the former Manchester City player is the one who played the fewest minutes under the orders of the Spanish coach last season (1,414) unlike Jules Koundé, Andreas Christensen or Ronald Araujo who respectively played 2,428, 1,764 and 1,804 minutes each.
Moreover, the 22-year-old defender is likely to suffer in the future from the rise of young Chadi Riad. The Moroccan, freshly crowned African champion under 23 with the Atlas Lions, is in the small papers of the 43-year-old technician for the coming season and could overtake Eric Garcia in the hierarchy. The 20-year-old has already appeared with the first team in the victory against Osasuna (2-1) in November 2022. However, the Spanish media add that the Catalans will not make any final decision. until Inigo Martinez fully recovers from the heel injury that seriously crippled him last season. To be continued…
