Transfer Centre

Girona chief rubbishes speculation of Barcelona, Chelsea bids for players

By Ben Knapton, Senior Reporter | 04 January 2024

Girona chairman Pere Guardiola plays down speculation of January exits for Chelsea-linked Artem Dovbyk and Barcelona-linked Aleix Garcia.

Girona chairman Pere Guardiola has rubbished reports linking some of the La Liga high-flyers' star men with January exits to revered European clubs.

Under the tutelage of Michel, Girona have stunned the Spanish footballing landscape to amass a staggering 45 points from their opening 18 La Liga matches in the 2023-24 season, sitting second in the table behind Real Madrid.

Only the head-to-head record is keeping Los Blancos ahead of Girona, who spent three seasons in the second tier before returning to the big time in 2022, finishing in an unspectacular 10th place last season.

Girona's remarkable exploits have inevitably led to rumours of some of their integral players joining esteemed European clubs in January, with striker Artem Dovbyk and midfielder Aleix Garcia of particular interest.

Dovbyk leads the Girona goalscoring charts with 11 strikes in the La Liga campaign - only Jude Bellingham, Borja Mayoral and Alvaro Morata have struck more - while six assists is the joint-most in Michel's team alongside Yan Couto.

Girona's Aleix Garcia on April 10, 2023 © Reuters

Chelsea are believed to have sent scouts to keep their eye on the 26-year-old Ukraine international, who is believed to be very close with Blues attacker and compatriot Mykhaylo Mudryk.

It was alleged that a fee of £39.1m could have been enough to prise Dovbyk away from Girona, while ever-present midfielder Garcia is thought to be on the radar of Barcelona.

The former Manchester City academy product has played every minute of Girona's 2023-24 season so far, registering three goals and four assists in the process, but he is still under contract until 2027 with the option of an additional year.

Girona chairman Guardiola - the brother of Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola - was recently quizzed on the speculation surrounding the future of the highly-rated duo by Revelo, but he affirmed that no offers have been made, and Girona have no plans to offload any of their key men this winter.

"There are no offers. Rumours, all of them. We don't have offers for anyone. Not from Barcelona for Aleix, not from Chelsea for Dovbyk, for anyone," the Evening Standard quotes Guardiola as saying.

Girona's Valery Fernandez celebrates scoring their third goal with teammates on December 10, 2023 © Reuters

"And we have no intention of selling to anyone either. The thing is that journalists really like the transfer window. The truth is that we have a good squad.

"Obviously it's normal that things will happen at the end [of the window], but people have noticed us because we are doing things well. What we want is for nothing to happen or minimal to happen in January."

With a move for the 6ft 2in Dovbyk seemingly off the cards, Chelsea must look elsewhere to add some height to their frontline during the January transfer window as they prepare to cope without Senegal's Nicolas Jackson during the Africa Cup of Nations.

The Blues are still being linked with a swoop for Brentford talisman Ivan Toney, but Bees boss Thomas Frank has played down claims that the Englishman could be on his way out of the Gtech Community Stadium in January.