Real Betis are in desperate need of defensive reinforcements, and it looks as if Manuel Pellegrini may have his wish granted.
Brazilian defender Luiz Felipe was sold to Saudi Arabia after the transfer deadline in September, something Pellegrini termed ‘irresponsible’ at the time. After Marc Bartra went down with a long-term injury, due to keep him out for several months, it has left Chilean coach with only German Pezzella and Chadi Riad as options in the middle of defence, who had never started a La Liga game previously.
Betis had been in talks with former Arsenal and Olympiakos defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos, who is a free agent, but those talks broke down as they could not agree terms. Now, as confirmed by President Angel Haro (via ED), those negotiations have now been reopened. They have ‘intensified in recent hours’ according to Haro, with the suggestion being that Sokratis has lowered his demands.
While Sokratis is 35 and has been out of action for several months, he is still a strong defender. Last season he played 29 times for the Greek giants, and even if Riad does come very good, having an option to rotate at least one natural defender in will go a long way to preventing further compromising situations.
