Leeds ace to join new teammates at St George’s Park on Tuesday, £10m+ deal on the cards – report MOT Leeds News
Marc Roca can be all but considered a Real Betis player as he continues to wait for his loan move from Leeds United to be finalised, according to Mundo Deportivo.
The Spanish newspaper claimed on Saturday (15 July), page 17, that Real Betis had been holding out for players to be sold in order to raise money for the acquisition of Roca, 26. The La Liga team was able to conclude the departures of Rober and Dani Martin on Friday (14 July).
According to reports, Roca and former Arsenal right-back Hector Bellerin will be able to join Manuel Pellegrini’s team on Tuesday, July 18.
According to Mundo Deportivo, Betis will begin using England’s St George’s Park training facility the following week, bringing Roca’s first encounter with his new teammates to the UK.
It’s unclear whether his loan deal with Betis has a permanent clause, but if Leeds don’t get promoted the next year, there may be a £10.3 million option-to-buy clause or a two-year loan extension.
At Leeds, Roca hasn’t worked out.
Since Jesse Marsch had more influence over transfers last summer, he was one of what seemed to be few Victor Orta acquisitions.
While Orta continued to only look at Spanish players, Marsch made the decision to only sign players who he had previously worked with or who were of the same nationality.
It’s a tactic that can be effective, but Roca was useless in this case.
Many athletes are unable to succeed in the Premier League. They have trouble adjusting to life on these shores for a variety of reasons.
Roca falls into that group, and perhaps a return to Spain can help him perform significantly better.
He will have Pellegrini as his boss and several excellent teammates working with him, so he should perform much better there than he did at Elland Road.
Ideally, he performs well enough that Betis ends up paying a fair price for him, as the extra money will undoubtedly benefit Leeds in the long run.
