Marca have an article in their Tuesday edition about Marc Roca extending his contract with Espanyol. The 19 year old midfielder has come through the ranks at the Barcelona club and is from the Catalonia region.
However, Roca has been receiving interest from Premier League clubs, with Liverpool and Southampton said to be ‘very aware’ of the midfielder. Jurgen Klopp is well known for recruiting and developing young players, and Southampton have a similar strategy whether their manager is Claude Puel or anyone else.
Roca’s new contract protects Espanyol somewhat. His previous release clause was just €1.5m, and now it’s jumped up to €40m. It’s still not completely prohibitive for English clubs, but if Southampton or Liverpool were to match that, or go close, then it’d show they took the recruitment seriously and were recruiting someone as a first team star.
Espanyol are likely safe for now, but if Roca improves as the club hope and expect then the interest is only going one way.
