Arsenal and Everton are ‘very attentive’ to the future of Espanyol midfielder Marc Roca, who looks set to leave the Spanish side this summer.
That’s what Sport report today, claiming that Roca is likely to be sold after Espanyol’s relegation from La Liga.
They are desperate to raise cash as a result and Roca, arguably the star man in their squad at present is a player they can make a good profit on.
At the moment the club’s transfer business is on hold while they search for a new manager, but that is not delaying the inevitable that Roca will leave at some point.
So far no clubs have made an offer for him, but several ‘leading teams’ have been following him with some interest.
Arsenal and Everton are among them, with the Premier League duo claimed to have the midfielder ‘in their orbit’ as a possible target this summer.
AC Milan are also keen and have discussed a deal, with Roca’s name coming up when the club met with Paolo Maldini to discuss a deal for Emerson.
This led to reports in Italy that a move was nearly done and he would be leaving for €15m, but Sport indicate that is not the case.
Instead, they say it is worth remembering that Arsenal and Everton, as well as Real Madrid, are all ‘very attentive’ to the situation, indicating they believe all three would move if Milan were pushing ahead.
In terms of asking price, they point out that Roca has a €40m release clause in his contract, but Espanyol have ‘renounced’ that, accepting that their relegation has forced them to ‘lower their claims’.
Indeed, Sport believe they will be lucky to get anywhere near the €30m Bayern Munich reportedly offered a year ago, suggesting there is a bargain to be had.
While the price tag remains uncertain, what isn’t is that Roca will leave.
Not only is he a player Espanyol can make a big profit on after signing him on a free transfer, but a move also makes sense for him as he ‘make a leap’ in his career.
At the moment there is nothing ‘firm’ on the table at the minute, but an offer will come at some point, it just remains to be seen if it’s from Arsenal or Everton and what price they’ll be willing to pay.
