Leeds United midfielder Marc Roca appears to be on the verge of an Elland Road exit this summer. If reports in Spain are to be believed, Roca is close to joining Real Betis on loan for the 2023-24 campaign, just 12 months after making the switch to Leeds from Bayern Munich.
According to Mundo Deportivo, Betis, who will be competing in Europe next season, have beaten off competition to sign Roca, who struggled to find consistency during his one season in the Premier League, which ended in Leeds being relegated to the Championship. The Spaniard knows La Liga well, of course, and it seems as though he’ll spend next season attempting to get his career back on track under Manuel Pellegrini, assuming the deal goes through.
His expected exit will come as little surprise for supporters, but for Leeds as a club, it seems as though his departure could kickstart what is expected to be a large summer exodus. United aren’t short of high-profile players with promising talent and the rumour mill has been in full swing since their relegation was confirmed at the end of May.
Adam Forshaw and Joel Robles represent the first technical departures, leaving Elland Road without the offer of a new deal but with an invitation to train with Leeds in pre-season. But, more will follow the released pair out of the door and the next few months promise to be extremely busy for Leeds, who are tasked with building a squad capable of pushing for a return to the Premier League at the first time of asking.
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Junior Firpo has also been linked to Real Betis and the expectation is that he will favour pastures new this summer rather than stick around to help Leeds through the Championship season. Rodrigo has been strongly linked with a cut-price switch to Real Madrid after regaining his spot in the Spain squad this summer.
Few fans would begrudge Rodrigo the opportunity to make such a move if it were to materialise and he’s not the only player who has been linked to the upper echelons of European football. Wilfried Gnonto has seen his name mentioned alongside the likes of Juventus, Manchester City and Arsenal this summer.
Tyler Adams has attracted reported interest from Newcastle United and Tottenham. The list doesn’t end there, either, with Illan Meslier, Brenden Aaronson, Robin Koch, Crysencio Summerville, Jack Harrison and Cody Drameh all featuring in transfer gossip columns across Europe.
It’s going to be an interesting summer at Elland Road, that is for certain and a host of new signings are expected to come through the door, too, as 49ers Enterprises attempt to make their mark early after agreeing to buy the club from Andrea Radrizzani. Roca’s proposed move to Betis should certainly gets the wheels moving this summer, though.
Roca made 32 appearances for the Whites in the Premier League during his first season at the club, with his one goal coming in defeat at Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium in September.
