Atletico Madrid are negotiating a deal to sign Espanyol midfielder Marc Roca this summer in a €15m deal, report Diario AS.
The report claims that the economic feasibility of the deal means that landing the central midfielder is now Atleti’s priority in what is expected to be a relatively quiet summer window.
They also want to move quickly for the midfielder as it is claimed that Sevilla have also identified him as a replacement for Ever Banega, who is departing for Saudi Arabia.
It is claimed that Diego Simeone’s side are considering including players on loan as part of the deal in order to reduce their wage bill for next season.
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 that are less than 50 percent of this value.
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.
