Arsenal
Premier League • England
Arsenal to make fresh move for £25m-rated Spaniard, as Edu refuses to yield after summer rejection
Arsenal director Edu is expected to make a second attempt at signing Joan Garcia
Arsenal are refusing to take no for an answer in their quest to sign Joan Garcia, with a report claiming a renewed push to sign the £25m-rated star will come at the behest of Edu in 2025.
Arsenal pushed to offload Aaron Ramsdale over the summer and ultimately found a buyer in Southampton. Ramsdale joined the Saints for an initial £18m which can rise to £25m through add-ons.
A reliable back-up to David Raya was required, leading the Gunners to target Espanyol stopper, Joan Garcia.
However, despite bidding €20m (£16.8m / $21.7m) and verbally agreeing personal terms with the goalkeeper, Espanyol held out for Garcia’s full €30m (£25m / $32.5m) release clause.
With time running out, Arsenal pulled out and moved for Bournemouth veteran Neto instead. The 35-year-old quickly arrived on a season-long loan.
But according to a fresh update from TBR Football, Arsenal and Edu want to return for Garcia at some stage in 2025.
Garcia is once again being lined up by the Gunners who don’t intend to extend Neto’s stay beyond one season.
READ MORE: The key contract details of every Arsenal first-team player: Expiry dates, weekly wages, agents…
Arsenal can secure release clause discount
A recent report from Mundo Deportivo claimed Garcia’s release clause dropped from €30m to €25m upon the summer window closing.
The reduced rate will remain in play until the mid-way point of the upcoming winter window on January 16.
As such, Arsenal reportedly have the chance to sign Garcia for €5m below the base figure of the clause if making their move early in the January window.
Another factor to consider is Mundo Deportivo’s claim Garcia’s clause will increase by €5m if he receives a call-up to the senior Spanish national side in the November international break.
If Arsenal do make a second attempt to sign Garcia, they would have to convince the Espanyol starter to assume a bench role behind Raya at the Emirates. But given Garcia agreed personal terms with Arsenal over the summer, that should not be an issue.
In the event Arsenal deem Garcia’s signing too expensive for the second time, young Aston Villa stopper, Oliwier Zych, is an alternative target in their sights. Sunderland’s Anthony Patterson was also mentioned by TBR Football.
Latest Arsenal news – Hato competition / Van Dijk on Saliba
In other news, Arsenal now face stiff competition from Liverpool for long-standing transfer target, Jorrel Hato.
The Reds are seeking to sign a successor to Andy Robertson and the Ajax ace is now on Liverpool’s radar following several scouting missions.
Elsewhere, Virgil van Dijk has stated that at age 23, he was “nowhere near” the player William Saliba is at that age right now. Nonetheless, Van Dijk was winning league titles at 23.
Finally, Gunners legend Patrick Vieira has urged Arsenal to snap up Aston Villa’s Jhon Duran as the final piece of their puzzle.
Duran has remarkably scored eight goals in just 527 minutes of action this season – a ratio of one goal every 66 minutes.
Who is Joan Garcia – Everything you need to know
Garcia was born in Sallent de Llobregat, Spain, in May 2001 and spent the bulk of his youth career at CF Damm and CE Manresa in Catalonia.
He joined Espanyol in 2016 and worked his way through the academy before making his first-team debut in a 3-2 win over SD Solares-Medio Cudeyo in the Copa del Rey in December 2021.
But the goalkeeper mainly acted as a back-up to Fernando Pacheco and made just nine more appearances in all competitions over the following two years.
He became the first-choice goalkeeper in March 2024 after an injury to Pacheco and kept eight clean sheets and conceded just seven goals from 14 Segunda Division games.
The 23-year-old kept another three clean sheets in the play-offs as Espanyol secured promotion to La Liga and then won gold in the Paris Olympics, although he was an unused substitute for Spain at the tournament.
Standing at 6ft 3ins, Garcia has been compared to Arsenal’s David Raya as he commands his area and is quick off his line to claim crosses. He is also comfortable with the ball at his feet, allowing Espanyol to play out from the back.
“We are dealing with a great goalkeeper, but we are also dealing with a great person,” Espanyol sporting director Fran Garagarza said. “His behaviour, his poise, his harmony and his tone of voice… for me, he’s top 10. That’s what I’ll take from him.”
