Report: Bayern Munich negotiating with Espanyol for Marc Roca after Renato Sanches’ departure

Boy, Bayern Munich sure do love their midfielders, don’t they? After shipping Renato Sanches off to Lille this week, the Bavarians are ready to continue their pursuit of Espanyol midfielder Marc Roca. Bild claim that the Sanches deal is facilitating the move, and Espanyol are finally ready to negotiate down from their initial demand of 40m euros.

According to the report, Roca is coveted by both Bayern and Real Madrid, who see him as an alternative to Christian Eriksen and Paul Pogba (note: nonsense, Eriksen and Pogba are attacking mids while Roca is a defensive midfielder). The player prefers a move to Germany, however, and his representatives and Bayern have already agreed on personal terms. The only hurdle is Espanyol’s asking price.

The Barcelona-based club has long maintained that they will sell Roca only if a club pays his release clause — €40m. However, Bild suggests that they may be softening their stance somewhat and are willing to sell the player for a mere €30m. That’s still higher than the €18m bid by Bayern a few weeks ago, but it’s possible that the Bavarians will be willing to go higher on the price now that Sanches has departed, bringing in some €25m.

Unfortunately Bild concludes by saying that, currently, talks are still taking place between the two clubs. That likely means that a deal is not exactly imminent. We’ll keep you updated as this news develops.