Espanyol keen to sign Paul Akouokou from Real Betis | OneFootball

Espanyol are interested in the prospect of signing Paul Akouokou from Real Betis, report Estadio Deportivo.

The Ivory Coast international has been struggling for playing time these past couple of months under the leadership of Manuel Pellegrini and he has barely played 600 minutes this season.

With Real Betis already knocked out of the Copa del Rey, the club’s board are looking to reshuffle their squad and reduce their wage bill.

It is believed that Espanyol are keen to take Paul Akouokou off Los Verdiblancos’ hands as they aim to bring him to Barcelona in order to help the club avoid finishing in the bottom three of La Liga come the end of the season.

The two sides are yet to negotiate a transfer fee, but initial talks have been positives as both parties want to finalise the deal before deadline day on January 31.

Real Betis also want to sign Ayoze Pérez from Leicester City before the transfer window closes.

GSFN | Tom Cserép