Wojciech Szczesny has hailed Arsenal target Joan Garcia as the finest goalkeeper in La Liga.
Garcia broke into Espanyol’s first-team in 2021, having joined the the club at the age of 15, and the Spaniard was handed the number one shirt at the start of the 2022/23 campaign.
The 24-year-old has gone on to make 64 appearances in all competitions for his boyhood team while earning himself plenty of admirers with his assured performances between the sticks.
After being named Espanyol’s Player of the Season last term, Garcia agreed personal terms with Arsenal, only for the deal to collapse due to the Gunners’ refusal to meet the ‘keeper’s €30million (£25m) release clause.
However, the north Londoners have not given up hope of securing an agreement, with Garcia’s buyout clause set to drop to €15m (£12.6m) if Espanyol are relegated from La Liga.
Get personalised updates on Arsenal everyday
Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro’s Football Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link we’ll send you so we can get football news tailored to you.
Real Madrid have also been credited with a strong interest in Garcia and are in talks with the shot-stopper’s camp over a proposed switch to the Bernabeu this summer.
There is now an acceptance at Espanyol that Garcia will move on to bigger and better things, whether or not they survive the drop this season, and Szczesny did little to dampen the speculation with some glowing praise for his opposite number.
Speaking to Eleven Sports after his Barcelona side wrapped up the title, the former Arsenal goalkeeper said: ‘I want to praise Joan Garcia.
‘I think he’s the best goalkeeper in La Liga and has a very big future ahead of him.
‘He’s one of the best goalkeepers in Spain and Europe right now.’
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web
browser that
supports HTML5
video
In an interview with Estadio Deportivo in February, Garcia reassured Espanyol fans that he would do everything in his power to ‘say goodbye’ in the right way.
‘At the moment I’m not thinking about that [the future], but you never know. If it happens, let it happen in the best way,’ he said.
‘If, in the end, it turns out that I have to leave, how can I not say goodbye well? Espanyol are the club that has given me everything.
‘If I go through the back door, it wouldn’t go well.’
Espanyol head coach Manolo Gonzalez, meanwhile, has suggested the club would likely struggle to keep hold of Garcia beyond the summer.
‘I can’t guarantee that he’ll stay at Espanyol next season,’ he told reporters last month.
‘You’re all seeing the level he’s at, which is what it is.’
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.