Real Betis boss Rubi has appeared to confirm the club are closing on a loan deal for Barcelona midfielder Carles Alena.
It had been thought that the Spaniard would join Getafe in a similar arrangement, following a report in Diario AS last week.
It comes in the aftermath of Getafe president Angel Torres confirming the club’s intent to land the player on Onda Cero earlier this week, when he claimed that whilst they have not yet spoken to Alena directly, they have approached the Blaugrana.
However, El Mundo Deportivo then said that the midfielder was likely to join Betis instead until the end of the campaign.
“It is true that the club is moving, either with Carles Aleñá or with other players,” Rubi told a press conference, as cited by Marca.
“It is up to the sports department to believe that these players can help us improve the level of what we already have, which is not easy because we already have a very strong squad, but they will be welcome.
“The sports department manage it and keep me informed.”
Tottenham were said to be monitoring the possibility of making a move while Italian giants Milan have previously been linked.
The 21-year-old La Masia youth graduate made 27 first-team appearances for the club last season after being promoted from their B team.
However, the central midfielder has been frozen out of action for Ernesto Valverde’s team this summer and had not featured since the opening day of the season – a 1-0 loss at Athletic Club Bilbao.
This week has seen Alena more heavily involved – he came off the bench at Real Mallorca before playing the full game at Inter.
Alena played the first half of that match before being substituted off but has struggled to feature since, with the club well stocked with central midfielders.
Frenkie de Jong, Sergio Busquets, Arturo Vidal and Artur Melo are the first-choice central midfielders at the club, with Ivan Rakitic also not featuring this season with academy product Riqui Puig also said to be favoured among the Blaugrana staff.
