Liverpool and Everton to battle over ‘impeccable’ La Liga star as reasonable price tag surfaces

Merseyside rivals Liverpool and Everton are both interested in Real Betis ace Guido Rodriguez and have now found out how much it will cost to sign him, according to a report.

Rodriguez is an Argentine central midfielder who began his career at River Plate. He had spells at Mexican clubs Club Tijuana and Club America before moving to Europe in January 2020.

As per transfermarkt, Real Betis paid £3.6million to sign him. Rodriguez has since become a regular in the Betis starting eleven and has made over 100 appearances for the side.

He has featured nine times this season and opened his goalscoring account by netting against Roma in the Europa League on Thursday night. This helped the La Liga outfit to pull off a 2-1 victory against Jose Mourinho’s team.

Rodriguez, who is 28 years old, has a contract with Betis that lasts until the end of the 2023-24 season. Due to this, Betis have no worries about him leaving on a free transfer any time soon.

However, they could be forced to sanction the player’s exit in the near future as Premier League clubs are willing to spend big money to sign him.

Chelsea were linked with Rodriguez in July, while Manchester United were tipped to sign him the following month.

Now it is Liverpool and Everton who are seemingly leading the race to land the 25-cap Argentina international.

Liverpool and Everton excited by ‘impeccable performances’

According to Sport Witness, who cite reports coming out of Spain, Liverpool and Everton have both been impressed by Rodriguez’s ‘impeccable performances’ this season.

Indeed, he is Betis’ second highest rated player this term, picking up an average of 7.16 from WhoScored. Only right-back Youssouf Sabaly has got a better rating in the squad.

Liverpool and Everton are planning to move for Rodriguez next year. Although, the report fails to mention whether this will happen in January or the summer.

Rodriguez starred for Betis in their win against Roma this week and this display put him ‘even more in the shop window’. Betis are now running the risk of losing him to a major side, the report states.

Liverpool or Everton should be able to sign Rodriguez for a decent fee. Betis will accept bids worth €30million, which works out at £26.3m currently.

Guido Rodriguez an alternative to Jude Bellingham

Given the fact Liverpool will have to spend well over £100m to sign prime midfield target Jude Bellingham, Rodriguez represents a far cheaper alternative.

He is a good option as he is picking up experience in both La Liga and the Europa League. Rodriguez is in his prime at 28, too.

However, Liverpool should still try and sign Bellingham if they can afford it. The Dortmund ace is only 19. This means he will be able to provide far more years of service to the Reds than Rodriguez.

Plus, Bellingham is showing he can perform on the biggest stage. He has captained Dortmund in the Champions League this season and has scored in every appearance in the competition.

Rodriguez is operating at a step down, given Betis are in the Europa League and not the UCL. If Jurgen Klopp wants to catch Manchester City, then he should probably consider going after Bellingham rather than the Betis man.

Meanwhile, Klopp has waxed lyrical about upcoming opponents Arsenal and spoken highly about one Gunners star in particular.