La Liga manager breaks silence on January pursuit of Barcelona defender | OneFootball

Michel’s Girona shocked the world last season after flying high in La Liga and were legitimate contenders for the trophy even in the second half of the campaign.

This season, however, has not quite gone to plan as they have failed to keep up the same momentum and currently sit in eighth place on the league standings after 19 games.

The fall in quality in the new campaign is understandable and down to a number of factors. One massive change, however, is the absence of Eric Garcia who returned to Barcelona in the summer after a pioneering season at Girona.

A move back on the cards?

Eric Garcia started the new season at Barcelona with reasonable prominence, featuring as an emergency pivot for Hansi Flick at a time of multiple midfield injuries.

After the return of regular starters, however, he has returned to his role on the bench and a departure is no longer ruled out, with Girona showing a strong interest in re-signing him.

Michel’s Girona interested in Eric Garcia. (Photo by Eric Alonso/Getty Images)

Speaking to the media in a recent press conference, Michel spoke about possibly signing Garcia but did not show must optimism.

“Neither optimistic nor pessimistic. Eric is a Barcelona player, and I don’t know what will happen,” he said, as quoted by Mundo Deportivo.

“My priority is to prepare for the next game and focus on the players I have available,” he added, giving nothing away.

With almost all players back from injury, Garcia is back to the role of a backup centre-back and even played as a substitute in the team’s latest win over Real Betis when the manager had to rotate Ronald Araujo.

Given that Andreas Christensen is back from his injury too now, he virtually stares at no minutes for the rest of the campaign and a departure may well be the best option on his table.

With Barcelona also trying to expedite departures to sign Marcus Rashford, a move to Girona may not be unlikely.