Real Betis are keeping a close eye on West Ham United’s Pablo Fornals and consider him an easier player to sign than Tottenham’s Giovani Lo Celso.
That’s according to Estadio Deportivo, who say that signing the midfielder on a free transfer has not been ruled out by those in charge of the Spanish club.
The newspaper explains that the pair remain in Betis’ eyeline in the ‘short and medium term’ after they showed an interest in both players throughout the summer transfer window.
The West Ham midfielder was one of the players that manager Manuel Pellegrini and director of football Ramon Planes ‘liked the most’ as they sought out a creative midfielder to improve the team in that area.
Indeed, ‘all eyes are still on’ the West Ham man and his counterpart at Tottenham ahead of the January transfer window.
Fornals is seen as the easier of the two to sign as he has barely been featuring for West Ham, where David Moyes has settled on a new look midfield and still has big summer signing Mohamed Kudus to come into the side fully.
His contract comes to an end next summer and he will be free to negotiate a pre-contract agreement from January with clubs around Europe should he wish.
That makes him easier to obtain for Betis, who believe that West Ham could even be convinced to sell him on the cheap in January rather than lose him on a free transfer.
Negotiating for that free transfer has not been ruled out either by Betis, though, which would be an either greater opportunity for a transfer.
There’s a decision to be made on that front in the coming months, when Betis will seemingly continue to think about a deal after showing interest in the summer.
