Real Betis are in the midst of a defensive midfield crisis, with injuries to William Carvalho, Marc Roca and Johnny Cardoso meaning that Manuel Pellegrini only has Sergi Altimira as a senior option currently available to him. Because of this, it is expected that the position will be addressed during the winter transfer window.
Club bosses may look to do this with a short-term loan, and a viable option that has been linked in recent days is former Barcelona star Arthur Melo. They may have to wait until the summer to sign an expensive option, and if the expected sale of Cardoso happens, they should have money to spend.
If so, one of the targets is likely to be Richard Rios. As per ED, the 24-year-old Colombian midfielder is well-liked by Betis’ sporting department, although it’s believed that Palmeiras would demand in excess of €20m in order for a sale to take place.
Rios would be a fine replacement for Cardoso if he does leave, and it would be very unlikely that the former could join unless that happened, given that Betis’ financial situation is not the strongest.
