Barcelona were interested in Valencia star prior to his Liverpool move last summer – report | OneFootball

Signing a goalkeeper appears to have become a priority for Barcelona in the coming summer, amid uncertainty over the future of Wojciech Szczesny and Inaki Pena.

Even Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s future has come under doubt as Barça push for a move for Espanyol’s rising star Joan Garcia.

Garcia has been on Barcelona’s radar for quite some time now. But he wasn’t the only one Barcelona have been tracking in the recent past.

Barça were interested in Giorgi Mamardashvili

According to Mundo Deportivo, the Catalans, in addition to Garcia, had been following the progress of another La Liga goalkeeper in Giorgi Mamardashvili.

Aged 24, the Georgian shot-stopper was seen as one of the best young goalkeepers in Spain, impressing with his reflexes, composure, and consistent performances at Mestalla.

Barcelona’s technical department had included Mamardashvili in a shortlist of potential future goalkeepers.

Mamardashvili was a target for Barcelona before his move to Liverpool (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)

His profile – tall, commanding, and experienced in La Liga despite his age – ticked many of the same boxes that Joan Garcia currently does.

However, before Barça could make a concrete move, Mamardashvili was snapped up by Liverpool last summer.

The goalkeeper joined the Reds in a deal worth €30 million but was immediately loaned back to Valencia.

Mamardashvili has since continued his impressive performances in La Liga, notably racking up eight clean sheets with a save percentage of almost 70%.

While signing Mamardashvili is out of the picture for now, Barcelona have identified an ideal target in the form of Joan Garcia, though it will be interesting to see how the Catalans compete with some of the top Premier League clubs in the race to sign the Spaniard.