Nobel Mendy is on his way from Real Betis to Rayo Vallecano, and this one is done. The 21-year-old France defender, valued at around £6m, has crossed the Spanish capital divide in a deal that has been confirmed. The numbers in discussion sat in the £2m–£2.4m range, with reporting since pointing to a figure agreed at £3m. For Rayo, it is a young defender secured at a price well below his market value. The latest word comes from Mundo Deportivo, a solid and reliable voice, who report the £3m agreement. That follows Pepe Elías, an equally credible source, who carried the earlier £2.4m bid. Two trustworthy reporters, then, moving in the same direction over a matter of hours — exactly the kind of corroboration you want before treating a deal as settled. The engine reads this at 100%, meaning there is nothing left to resolve: the move is confirmed, the fee is agreed, and both clubs are aligned. A figure that high is not a prediction of likelihood so much as a statement that the deal has effectively crossed the line. Nothing in the reporting suggests a stumbling block or a competing club still circling. The money is in keeping with how Rayo Vallecano operate. They brought in players from Alavés for £2m, from HB CFFC for £2m, and from RM Castilla for £2m in 2021. Mendy at around £3m fits neatly into that bracket — a modest, sensible outlay. Watch next for the medical to be completed and the formal announcement, after which the only remaining detail is the unveiling.