Real Betis are interested in the Colombian midfielder with an asking price of 20 million euros

Real Betis are in the midst of a defensive midfield crisis, with injuries to William Carvalho, Marc Roca and Johnny Cardoso meaning 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.

The owners of the club can seek 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 can 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 probably Richard Rios. Ace for EDthe 24-year-old Colombian midfielder is highly valued by Betis' sporting department, although it is believed that Palmeiras would demand more than 20 million euros to make a sale.

Rios would be a good replacement for Cardoso if he leaves, and it would be highly unlikely that the former could join unless it happened, given that the Betis the financial situation is not the strongest.