Luiz Felipe is on the verge of joining Real Betis on a free transfer. The Italian international is currently on vacation but, according to Marca, will join Manuel Pellegrini’s side when his contract with Lazio expires. A 25-year-old centre-back who was born in Brazil, Luiz Felipe is the latest in a string of players identified as market opportunities by Betis.
Last summer Betis signed Rui Silva, Youssouf Sabaly and Juan Miranda on free transfers. The year before they signed Martin Montoya, Victor Ruiz and Claudio Bravo for zero cost. And before that they recruited Sergio Canales, Pau Lopez, Takashi Inui and Joel Robles on the same kind of deal. It’s a model that has worked wonders for the Andalusian club.
Because as well as saving money they’ve also enjoyed on-field success. Los Verdiblancos have now finished fifth in La Liga two seasons running and also won the Copa del Rey – their first trophy since 2005 – last season. They beat Valencia in the final at La Cartuja.
