Blues have numbers in defence if Garcia walks

CITY’S plans of a defensive overhaul this summer were not helped by the news that Eric Garcia will not sign a new contract.

Pep Guardiola confirmed that Garcia has informed the club he won’t extend his stay past next summer, leaving City to make a decision over whether to sell this summer or allow him to leave on a free in 12 months.

It is a similar situation to the one that saw Leroy Sane join Bayern Munich in June for £49m, as City opted to negotiate the best price for a player who had decided his future lies elsewhere.

Garcia is a different type of player in a different position, but recent line-ups suggested he was going to be a key part of the club’s future.

On the other hand, if Barcelona were to offer an initial fee upwards of £20m for Garcia, as City desire, then it would be foolish to pass up on that kind of money for a player with only 22 senior appearances.

And if he was to leave, then City have three players ready to take his place in the first team squad.

Taylor Harwood-Bellis is a youngster familiar with senior training, and has impressed whenever given the chance in the FA Cup or Carabao Cup. Like Garcia, he has come through the academy ranks.

However, maybe HarwoodBellis would benefit from a loan move, with Premier League football perhaps a little beyond him at this stage.

Instead, City can look to two loanees if a space becomes available for a youngster to challenge the senior centrebacks in all competitions.

First, Tosin Adarabioyo, fresh from a second successive loan spell in the Championship, has built up some good experience and returns to City from Blackburn with some rave reviews.

He has outlined his ambitions to make it at City, and would be a low-cost option to replace Garcia – and he’d have a point to prove.

There’s also Philippe Sandler, who was involved in the first team squad for much of the 2018/19 season, and spent last season on loan at Anderlecht with Vincent Kompany.

Injury restricted him to just 11 appearances in Belgium, but he could prove to be a useful squad member if Garcia left.