‘Thiago-type’ ace must join Leeds or West Ham after 6 starts in two years

Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images

“Nobody said it was easy,” croons Chris Martin in 2002 Coldplay classic The Scientist. “No one ever said it would be so hard.” 

Marc Roca, after one of the most forgettable stints imaginable, will know what he means. Though while Martin warbles ‘it’s such a shame for us to part’, the Bayern Munich fans probably won’t feel the same about a man who has started just six Bundesliga games – and two in the Champions League – since joining the German giants from Espanyol in the summer of 2020. 

According to The Athletic, Bayern are already ready to cut their losses, two years into Roca’s five-year deal. If Leeds United or West Ham, two clubs reported to be offering Roca a fresh start, stump up £10 million, the serial Bundesliga champions will not stand in his way. 

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“I want to play,” the former Spain U21 international said last year. “(But) I’m aware that I have probably the best midfielder in the world (Joshua Kimmich) in front of me, or one of the best, and I must accept that.” 

There is arguably not a more complete player in European football right now than a man who looked every inch a world-class full-back before blossoming in a more central role at the Allianz Arena. Kimmich is not the only obstacle in Roca’s path, however. There’s Leon Goretzka too, plus Jamal Musiala and Marcel Sabitzer.

Bayern are also on the verge of signing Ryan Gravenberch from Ajax for a fee in excess of £20 million. 

And while three trophies in just two years is some consolation, Roca is not the kind of character who is content to merely pick up his weekly pay-packet before making himself comfortable on the Bayern bench. According to Kicker, the 25-year-old wants to leave. Preferably, on a permanent basis too. 

Is Marc Roca leaving Bayern Munich for Leeds or West Ham?

Photo by S. Mellar/FC Bayern via Getty Images

Of course, there is no shame in falling short of one of Europe’s biggest and most competitive clubs. Yaya Toure, Rafael Van der Vaart and Martin Odegaard all arrived in the Premier League after struggling to establish themselves elsewhere, after all. They didn’t do too badly in England. 

And Roca, a hugely technical central midfielder who has earned comparisons to the likes of Sergio Busquets, Xabi Alonso and Thiago Alcantara, should not be written off just because he failed to oust Kimmich at Bayern. In truth, few could. 

“He mostly plays as a number eight, he is a bit like Goretzka. A small, technical player, a fine player. Can play good passes, he has game intelligence,” German legend Lothar Matthaus says of Roca. 

“He’s also a bit of a Thiago-type.” 

A move to Leeds or West Ham – two sides with more than enough room for a stylish, cultured central midfielder in the Roca mould – should help the forgotten man of Munich get his career back on the right track again. 

Photo by Roland Krivec/vi/DeFodi Images via Getty Images

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