Liverpool target offered welcoming party back at Real Betis

Joaquin insists Liverpool target Dani Ceballos would be welcomed back to Real Betis “with open arms”.

The 21-year-old midfielder left the Seville-based club last summer, but his €17million transfer has not gone according to plan.

The playmaker penned a six-year deal at the Santiago Bernabeu, but he has made only two La Liga and Champions League starts all season and he’s been omitted from six of the last seven La Liga squads.

Ceballos, who scored twice in one of his two starts against Alaves, reportedly had his heart set on a move to Liverpool, according to El Chiringuito.

In February they claimed Ceballos wanted to move to Anfield in January and will chase a move to the Premier League in the summer.

Liverpool will face competition from his fomer club Betis though after skipper Joaquin set his sights on the player.

“Dani could do a great job for us,” Joaquin told El Pelotazo.

“He is a fantastic player that would be an important part of any team and obviously he will want to play.

“We would welcome him back with open arms because we know what Betis means to him and he would improve us, and we would improve him.”

Ceballos made 98 league appearances before his move to Madrid last year and Betis wanted to re-sign him last January.

“Our coach wants it to happen and Ceballos wants it happen, but it cannot happen,” vice president Lorenzo Serra Ferrer told El Transistor in January.

However, because he had already been registered with the Seville-based club this season – despite sealing his switch to the Bernabeu in July he was unable to be registered twice in the same season with the same club under La Liga rules.