Earlier within the season, Barcelona have been critically missing midfield choices. At one stage, Hansi Flick solely had Marc Casado and Pedri for the pivot positions in his system, as he was with out the companies of Frenkie de Jong, Gavi and Marc Bernal due to harm. Due to this, Eric Garcia was drafted in as a makeshift various.
Garcia performed a handful of matches as a rotation choice, as this allowed the minutes of Pedri to be successfully managed. Nevertheless, he has not been utilised since early October after he picked up a muscular harm earlier than Barcelona’s match in opposition to Sevilla.
Garcia is anticipated to return after the worldwide break, however when he does, he’ll not he thought-about an choice in midfield. As per Sport, Flick’s thought is to primarily use the 24-year-old in defence, the place he naturally performs.
As soon as Eric García returns from harm, he’ll be used as a centre-back somewhat than a pivot. With the midfield overcrowded, the protection might use extra choices, as Sergi Domínguez is at the moment the one backup for the Pau Cubarsí–Iñigo Martínez pairing. @tjuanmarti pic.twitter.com/o5GeorZP3H
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) November 10, 2024
De Jong and Gavi’s recoveries imply that Garcia is not wanted in midfield, and it is sensible to have him solely deal with defence as that is an space that Barcelona are nonetheless missing due to the absences of Ronald Araujo and Andreas Christensen.