The Spaniard joined the club for £10m in the summer of 2022 from Bayern Munich and was a regular member of the squad that got relegated, before heading to La Liga with Real Betis on a season-long loan last summer.
He has excelled there and the Spanish club already want to make his deal permanent but with no pre-agreed buy-option in the deal, Leeds are hopeful of securing a profit from the deal such is the leverage they have with his contract.
“The negotiation between the clubs will be crucial to determine Roca’s future at Betis,” they wrote.
“Given the lack of an established purchase clause, the situation may be more challenging and require an agreement between both parties on the amount to be paid for the player’s transfer.
“This scenario could lead to protracted negotiations and possibly a higher cost than the initially estimated €12 million paid by Leeds to Bayern.”
When we signed Roca it was seen by most to be quite a shrewd bit of business such was his standing in the game, and it looked a good signing.
Obviously the team performed poorly and he struggled as the season went on when the style of play changed to a more physical one, and it was clear that he was going to look to move on as soon as possible when we got relegated.
But if we get back to the Premier League at the first attempt we’ll be in a much stronger negotiating position for our players, especially those who are spending this season on loan elsewhere.
Roca is wanted by Betis, who are looking to push for European football again and that means they can afford a good transfer fee. Roca will still have years left on his contract at Elland Road, so there will be no rush to agree a quick price and move him on.
