€22m former Real Betis central defender to become available for free this winter | OneFootball

Real Betis risked the ire of Manuel Pellegrini last season when they sold their best defender at the time Luiz Felipe after the transfer deadline, forcing them to bring in veteran free agent Sokratis Papastothopoulos. Now the Brazilian might once again be an option for Los Verdiblancos.

As per Matteo Moretto, Felipe and Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad are already negotiating a mututal termination of his contract, just 13 months after he signed for them for €22m. A resolution is expected in the coming days.

Felipe played just 28 times for Al-Ittihad, but has been nursing muscular issues for much of his time there, and this season was left unregistered after just 20 minutes of action. Already he has been linked with a return to his former club Betis, although naturally he would have to return to a much more modest salary. Were he to return on a free, it would certainly be a smart piece of business by Betis.

The 27-year-old, who has been capped by Italy, may want to test out the free agency market though, and find a more lucrative offer. Betis have since signed Natan and Diego Llorente at the back, but with Marc Bartra, still only have three central defenders on their books. Whether it be for Betis or someone else, he is a market opportunity for someone.