LaLiga Villarreal player will move next season

Although he was discarded by Atletico Madrid in the past, the club alleging, among other reasons, that his short stature was not what they were looking for, Villarreal's Rodri will now sign for the Rojiblancos in the summer 2018 transfer window.

The agreement is complete and will take shape once the current financial year is over.

Barcelona already know it too, after the Catalans became interested in his situation in recent days.

At 21 years old, Rodri is considered the natural replacement for Sergio Busquets in the Spanish national team.

His ability to recover the ball and the ease with which he distributes it, means that he leads the LaLiga statistics for recoveries and is among the top ten for completed passes.

When Bruno was injured, Rodri comfortably made the step up to form a partnership in midfield with Trigueros.

Now that the captain is about to recover, Javi Calleja will have to rotate the three in what remains of the campaign.

As far as Atletico are concerned all the reports about the player are positive, and he will be a fine addition in a position where Tiago has retired and Gabi is in the final stretch of his career.

In fact, it's a position the Rojiblancos had been looking to fill for some time, but the FIFA sanction has prevented any arrivals in the last two transfer markets.

The agreement between Atletico and Villarreal has been closed for a figure of 20 million euros fixed plus five in variables.

"The clause is a private amount and as such we won't communicate it," Fernando Roig Negueroles, Villarreal's CEO said.

"If an offer is received that is good for all parties, it will be studied, as is always the case."

Rodri will sign for five seasons (until 2023) but will continue wearing yellow until June.