More details have emerged regarding how much Real Betis are expected to pay to sign Marc Roca from Leeds United permanently.
Betis had originally agreed to sign Roca on loan for a second successive season after Leeds’ failure to win promotion back to the Premier League.
The 27-year-old is thought to be one of two of Leeds’ loan army with the clause in his deal to allow him to leave on loan again, with the other thought to be Jack Harrison. Brenden Aaronson has already waivered his right to do so, by agreeing to return to West Yorkshire.
However, the Betis have instead moved to seal a permanent agreement with Leeds instead, with a contract already having been agreed until 2028.
Roca is expected to become Leeds’ first permanent sale of the summer but certainly won’t be the last, with behind-the-scenes staff at Elland Road having acknowledged this will need to be the case to comply with PSR.
How much Roca are set to pay to sign Roca from Leeds
Paraag Marathe insisted earlier this month that Leeds were in a better position when it came to the futures of the returning loanees.
And on the early evidence so far, he has certainly been proven right. Not only will Leeds now be getting a fee for Roca, but they will also be getting the services of Aaronson again.
What’s more, none of Max Wober, Diego Llorente or Rasmus Kristensen are believed to have the option to leave on loan again, meaning Leeds may also be able to secure permanent exits for them.
And after news of Betis’ imminent agreement with Leeds over Roca, Estadio Deportivo have now gone one step further by revealing more details on the fee they could pay.
It is said that Betis are actually going to be paying less than the £10.1 million (€12m) that was originally agreed last summer as a future buy option.
That means Leeds are all but certain to make a loss on what they paid to sign the Spanish midfielder, having spent £10 million to bring him in from Bayern Munich in 2022.
Roca sale to help Leeds with cash flow, rather than PSR
As mentioned, it has been widely acknowledged that Leeds will have to sell players this summer in order to remain compliant with PSR, amid a reduction in the parachute payments they receive.
However, given Leeds are seemingly set to make a loss on Roca, it won’t really help with that, but more so their cash flow issues.
Leeds owe £73 million in unpaid transfer instalments by the end of this month, though are already over halfway to raising that figure due to the sales of Tyler Adams and Luis Sinisterra within this financial year.
The sale of Roca will help keep that ticking over while still not having sold any of their important players from last season’s first team squad.