Sevilla have signed Swansea City midfielder Roque Mesa, who was reportedly the club’s ‘back-up plan’ if Ever Banega left this summer.

The two clubs made the deal official early on Wednesday morning, with the 29-year-old Spaniard rejoining the club where he spent the second half of last season on loan. The fee is reportedly in the region of £8m, and he’s signing a three-year contract with his new club.

The Independent previously claimed that Mesa was Sevilla’s ‘back-up plan…should [Banega’s] release clause be activated’. Although there’s no suggestion Arsenal have activated the clause just yet, it’s looking increasingly likely they’ll do so, particularly with the way the Argentinian is playing for his country at the moment.

As a result, it seems Sevilla are planning ahead, bringing Mesa in early, just in case. Hopefully it’s a sign of how worried they are about losing their star midfielder to Arsenal, despite claims in the media that he’s ‘not for sale’.

At the end of the day, they don’t really have the ability to put that label on Banega. He has a €20m release clause, so Arsenal don’t even need to negotiate, given that’s more than a fair price for the 29-year-old.

All the club need to do is convince Banega that moving to England is in his best interests. With any luck, former Sevilla/Valencia boss Unai Emery is the perfect man to persuade him.