Newcastle United had a scout at Real Betis this week to watch Ez Abde, but face competition from Aston Villa for his signature.

Diario de Sevilla report on the growing Premier League interest today. The Moroccan winger is earning admirers around Europe this summer.

Newcastle United scouts

The newspaper reports that scouts from Newcastle United were at the Estadio de la Cartuja on Tuesday night watching the match between Real Betis and Elche.

That is significant as the newspaper has also learned that Newcastle and Aston Villa are ‘very, very interested’ in Ez Abde. At this moment in time, though, neither have made an official move for him.

Those in charge at Real Betis are fully aware of the interest from Newcastle and Aston Villa. But they are waiting for any developments, in other words, official bids.

Barcelona are another team monitoring the winger closely. He is one of the options being considered if they don’t sign Marcus Rashford permanently.

Barcelona relationship

The Catalans could have an advantage too, as their relationship with Betis is excellent. The two clubs have done numerous deals for players over the years. Their relationship is also important given Abde’s current contract status.

Betis currently own 80% of his rights after acquiring half of his transfer from Barcelona for €7.5m in September 2023. In February 2025, the Catalans ceded an additional 30% as compensation for the termination of Vitor Roque’s loan.

In any transfer, Betis are set for a ‘tremendously high’ profit. But, if the player were to leave for €40m, €8m would go to Barcelona.  That’s just an example at this point.

Betis are in no rush to sell. They will wait until the World Cup to see how Abde performs there. A strong showing from him and Morocco could see his value rise even further.

For now, it appears that Aston Villa and Newcastle United are simply watching. But the Magpies had a scout in attendance this week, a potential sign of their growing interest.

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