Former defender could hold the key for Barcelona in pursuit of 26-year-old midfielder

Former Barcelona defender and La Masia graduate Mika Marmol is enjoying a fine season in La Liga with Garcia Pimienta’s Las Palmas side.

As such, the left-footed centre-back is being coveted by important teams in La Liga and other major European competitions.

Among those interested are La Liga title contenders and Barça’s Catalan rivals Girona and Mundo Deportivo reports that it might end up helping the Blaugrana in their pursuit of Aleix Garcia.

Aleix Garcia a top target for Barça

At this point, it is well-known that Barcelona are strongly interested in signing Aleix Garcia from Girona in the summer.

After failing to secure his services in January, the Catalan giants remain keen on the 26-year-old midfielder and have even established contacts to explore a transfer in the summer.

Garcia has a release clause in his Girona contract that ranges between €15-20 million and Barça hope to reduce that price further by offering a player in exchange.

Aleix Garcia is a target for Barcelona. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

Names such as Oriol Romeu, Pablo Torre, and even Eric Garcia have been mentioned as possible makeweights, but Mika Marmol could now enter the operation.

Mika Marmol the key?

As per the aforementioned report from Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona have an option of first refusal on Mika Marmol, as well as a percentage of a future sale.

And, they could use this to their advantage in the summer to execute the operation to sign Aleix Garcia from Girona.

Michel’s team have already asked about the 22-year-old’s situation at Las Palmas. And they had an answer: his termination clause is €10 million.

Barça, for their part, are hoping to hold on to the Mika Mármol card so that they can include it if necessary in the Aleix García deal. It remains to be seen how things develop on this front and whether the ex-academy man’s situation helps the Blaugrana.