Carles Aleñá move to Real Betis almost sealed - report

Carles Aleñá will almost certainly be moving to Real Betis on loan, according to Mundo Deportivo. The midfielder has had trouble getting playing time for Barcelona and with reports suggesting neither Arturo Vidal nor Ivan Rakitić will move this winter, this situation does not seem to be changing.

Aleñá has apparently spoken with Betis’s manager, Rubi, who was an assistant for Tito Villanova at Barcelona. That has convinced him to accept a role with Betis, who are currently 11th in the table, it is said.

The report says Betis were close to getting him in the summer, and Aleñá was close to leaving, but at the last, Ernesto Valverde vetoed the move. The reason? Barça was going to transfer Rakitić out and Valverde wanted more midfield cover. However, ultimately the Croatian stayed.

Barcelona reportedly want Aleñá to gain experience and return, although Betis prefer to have the option to purchase him outright at the end of the loan. If a buy option was included, however, Barcelona reportedly would only agree to it if they got the ability to add a buyback clause to once again recover the player in the future should they choose.