On Wednesday, Diario de Sevilla reported Marc Roca will return to Leeds United after his loan deal at Real Betis expires at the end of this season. This was seen as nothing more than a negotiating tactic from the La Liga side.
Thursday’s edition of ABC Sevilla has a report titled: ‘Agreement with Marc Roca awaiting Leeds’.
Real Betis have a clause to extend his loan stay for one more season if the Championship side fail to return to the top flight.
Leeds are third in the table, three points behind second placed Ipswich Town, with one more game left this season. The play-offs beckon for the Whites.
The Andalusian club are monitoring developments at Elland Road, knowing it will impact their hopes to retain the 27-year-old.
Real Betis have worked with the Leeds owned player and his entourage, to ‘agree all the details’, to extend his stay at the club beyond June 30th. This includes the salary and length of the contract.
If Leeds fail to secure promotion, Roca can extend his loan stay. The report says Real Betis can then take advantage of this to either buy him for a lower price in the summer or wait until 2025 to secure a cheap deal since his contract at Leeds lasts until 2026.
Both scenarios favour the Spanish club to buy Roca for a reasonable fee and his desire to continue will only strengthen their stance.
Real Betis sources have also made it clear to ABC Sevilla that they aren’t going to pay the €10-12m as they consider these figures to be above market value.
Roca and Real Betis have an agreement in place, and both are waiting for Leeds’ approval, which won’t be needed if they don’t return to the Premier League.
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