High-flying Italian club Atalanta have entered the race to sign Espanyol midfielder Marc Roca this summer.
A report in El Mundo Deportivo cites Italian media outlet Tuttomercato as reporting that Atalanta have already opened negotiations to sign the midfield star.
Roca has a €40m release clause at the RCDE Stadium but following the club’s relegation to the Segunda division it is likely that they will accept offers well below this value and indeed the fresh report claims that a deal could be done in the region of €20m.
The Bergamo-club will have money to spend after securing their place in next season’s Champions League, while they take on Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-finals of this campaign’s competition.
There are multiple teams who have been linked with Roca, including Atalanta’s Serie A rivals Milan and Fiorentina.
A star at Under-21 level with Spain, it is widely thought that Roca will be a part of the senior national team in the coming years and he started 33 league games for Espanyol this season.
The central midfielder has only made 123 first-team appearances for the Catalan club but has been widely praised for his technical ability, positional sense and leadership qualities.
The Premier League is another possible destination for the Spaniard.
