Official announcement imminent as Espanyol notify Barcelona about the reception of Joan Garcia’s release clause | OneFootball

FC Barcelona are looking to strengthen their goalkeeping position ahead of the next summer transfer window, and their preferred candidate for this purpose is the RCD Espanyol player Joan Garcia.

The Spaniard is quite close to joining the Catalan club, as the Catalans have already paid his release clause to La Liga.

Today, the league authorities informed Espanyol about the reception of the goalkeeper’s €25 million release clause, and the Catalans has already issued a statement explaining this latest development.

Espanyol notify Barcelona about reception of Garcia’s release clause

Meanwhile, according to Mundo Deportivo, Espanyol have also notified Barcelona about the reception of Joan Garcia’s release clause.

Now, the Blaugranes are waiting for some final formalities to be put out of the way by the management of their city rivals. Once this has been done, the goalkeeper’s transfer can be officially announced by Barcelona.

The report claims that this announcement can come as soon as today, on Monday, or on Tuesday. This will ultimately depend on how long the management takes to resolve these final few steps in the signing process.

Joan Garcia signs a 6-year contract

While the clubs continue to work on completing this transfer, Barcelona have already reached a personal agreement with the Spanish shot-stopper for quite some time now. Previously, he was set to sign a 5-year contract, but now his contract has been extended to 6 years, till 2031.

This will facilitate the Blaugranes’ financing of the new goalkeeper, while Joan Garcia also saw his wages increase for the final year of the contract, when the costs of his move would already have been fully amortized.

There is no doubt that he will be quite an exciting signing for Barcelona. With him as a starter and Wojciech Szczesny as the back-up, Hansi Flick will have two very competent goalies protecting the goal. However, this will leave Marc-Andre ter Stegen in a difficult position, as he would be the third-placed player in this pecking order.