Espanyol star could prove to be a better buy than either Eriksen or Pogba

By Mark Finlay
- Tweet
- Pin It
Updated: August 21, 2019

We have all followed the news regarding Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba’s desire to join Real Madrid and manager Zinedine Zidane’s attempts to make it happen.

Then before all this came about, the newspapers were full of reports that Tottenham’s Christian Eriksen would be coming to the Santiago Bernabeu. They even went so far as to say that the Danish international had been spotted house-hunting in the Spanish capital.

Now with neither of those scenarios likely to happen before the Spanish transfer window closes on September 2^nd, Spanish news outlet Mundo Deportivo says Real Madrid are looking to La Liga for a midfielder.

The man in question is 22-year-old Espanyol star Marc Roca following an impressive display in La Liga last season.

Mundo Deportivo claims that Real Madrid is seriously considering a move for the central midfielder after he put in a stellar performance against Los Blancos last season.

After coming up through the Spanish junior international ranks and winning this summer’s European Under-21s Championships in Italy, Roca could soon find himself playing in Spain’s national team.

Meanwhile, Espanyol knows they have a star in their team and given his young age, a player that has many years of football ahead of him.

For this reason, Mundo Deportivo thinks that Real Madrid will have to pay at least 40 million euros as Espanyol will accept nothing less than his release clause.

Other big teams are looking at Roca as well

Real Madrid may not be alone in their admiration of Roca, with Bayern Munich said to be keeping a close eye on developments along with several Premier League clubs.

A big selling point for Madrid is the fact that Roca is left-footed, a trait none of the teams other current midfielders have.

Madrid is also impressed with the fact that Roca is equally capable of operating as a defensive midfield, something that would come in very useful should Casemiro get injured or miss matches through suspension.

Mundo concludes their assessment of the situation surrounding Roca by saying they do not think that Real Madrid will agree to pay an Espanyols asking price, but may be prepared to do a player and cash deal for the youngster.

Last season Roca made 35 La Liga appearances for Espanyol and has seven caps at U-21 level with Spain.

While Real Madrid has a reputation for going after the biggest names in football it is often a better policy to get younger talents like Roca and help them develop.

I also really like the fact that he is left-footed and that he can play as a defensive midfielder, both of which could prove to be game-winning assets.

Have a look at Roca playing for Espanyol and Spain in the video below. He looks to me like the real deal and overtime a player that can become a leader on the pitch.