Atletico Madrid have been linked with Ansu Fati at various points this summer, as Barcelona looked to find a destination for their injury-hit 20-year-old starlet. Yet Los Rojiblancos got in touch with Barcelona about another of their attacking options in the final hours of the transfer window.
Moroccan winger Ez Abde ended up moving to Real Betis for €7.5m in exchange for 50% of his rights late on in the window, but had interest from a number of clubs. Sporting Director Deco was clear that he only wanted either a sale or Abde to stay, but the Moroccan international was clear that his preference was Real Betis.
That is despite interest from Aston Villa, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Osasuna and Nottingham Forest. Relevo say that Atletico Madrid also called Barcelona to see what the situation was, although did not go any further than that – they were unsure how the Yannick Carrasco situation would play out.
Had Betis not managed to sign Abde, former Forest, West Ham and Manchester United winger Jesse Lingard was next up on their list. Currently he is a free agent.
Abde should have a good environment to develop at Betis, where Manuel Pellegrini tends to get the best out of his attacking options. With Los Cerdiblancos also in European action this summer, it should provide plenty of opportunities for Abde to continue his development after a successful loan at Osasuna.
