Real Betis bring in Leeds United midfielder on loan with option to buy

Originally posted on Football Espana | By Ruairidh Barlow | Last updated 7/17/23

Real Betis have confirmed their second signing of the summer, after announcing that Marc Roca has joined on loan from Leeds United.

Roca spent a single season at Leeds having been linked with a move to Betis last summer, but chose to head to the Premier League from Bayern Munich. He played 32 games last season but has now strengthened the Verdiblanco midfield after Leeds were relegated.

@RealBetis_en have announced the signing of #LUFC midfielder Marc Roca in unique fashion…#MOT #Betis pic.twitter.com/L7hoGxV0x6

— Football España (@footballespana_) July 17, 2023

Roca joins on loan this season, but according to ED, they will have a €12m buy option on the 26-year-old.

One of the more promising midfielders in Spain as a youngster at Espanyol, Roca failed to settle at Bayern, and has now been a number of campaigns without regular starts for a full season.

Unless there are major departures at Betis, it seems more likely he will be competing for place at the Benito Villamarin, where they could do with the depth. While Manuel Pellegrini has several very talented midfielders, outside of Guido Rodriguez, only Andres Guardado, Paul Akouokou and William Carvalho are best-suited to a deeper role, although the Portuguese is arguably better further forward too.

This article first appeared on Football Espana and was syndicated with permission.

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