Former Barcelona chief Ramon Planes has only just arrived at Real Betis, and it appears as if he will look to bet on players he knows well this summer, in this case returning to his former club. According to MD, there are a remarkable five players on his agenda, although with varying levels of probability.
The first in question would be a player that has already left Barcelona, and thus will simply be a case of negotiating a contract with Arnau Tenas. The young goalkeeper is a free agent after the Blaugrana did not extend his contract, but you wonder about Tenas’ appetite to join Betis, knowing veteran Claudio Bravo and Rui Silva will likely be ahead of him.
Creative midfielder Alex Collado has struggled to have the impact that many hoped since moving up from Barca Atletic, and after 18 months of disappointing loan at Elche, Barcelona are willing to let him go. They want to retain a percentage of a future sale, but otherwise Planes can take a risk on Collado without cost. If Manuel Pellegrini can get the best out of him, he would fit the profile they have often sought in recent years, potentially rotating for Nabil Fekir or Sergio Canales.
The other three deals would be loan options. Pablo Torre failed to make any impact in his first season at Barcelona after moving from Racing Santander, which is not altogether surprising given he came from the third tier. However Barcelona are not keen on seeing him go another year without game time, and Betis would be a good home for him.
Competition in the Betis midfield is still high though, and there is a good chance he would be starved of minutes again, if he didn’t make a good first impression.
The least likely options are Nico Gonzalez and Ez Abde. Xavi Hernandez is set to evaluate them in preseason, and with no major transfer offers on the table seemingly, Xavi will make the call as to whether they should remain with the first team or seek out minutes elsewhere once again.
So far Nico has not looked like Xavi’s preferred style of midfielder, and he put in some solid performances for Valencia last season. It may well depend on what other business Barcelona can do in midfield.
On the other hand Abde was highly impressive at Osasuna, playing a major role in their qualification for European football and their run to the Copa del Rey final. The Moroccan does not want to have his career stalled at Barcelona though, and would rather leave on loan if he will not get meaningful minutes, which may work in Betis’ favour. After Joaquin’s retirement, Los Verdiblancos could do with strengthening on the flanks.
