marc bartra
Sevilla want Marc Bartra (left) on loan Getty Images

Sevilla have made a formal offer to secure the services of Barcelona centre-back Marc Bartra on loan until the end of the campaign, according to Sport. The Spanish international had been identified as the 'first-choice' alternative to their confirmed interested in luring Tottenham wantaway Federico Fazio back to La Liga.

The club President Pepe Castro confirmed earlier this week that the Europa League winners are keen on getting Fazio, the Argentinian defender, during the January transfer window despite the fact he left the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium in the summer of 2014 under a cloud.

Spurs, nevertheless, had to to meet his €10m (£7m, $10.6m) release clause following weeks of unsuccessful negotiations – at one point Sevilla threatened legal action against the Premier League side.

More about Federico Fazio

"We are working on a number of options and Fazio is one of them," Castro told Radio Sevilla. "He is an option, but nothing has been completed yet. It is clear that Fazio did not leave Sevilla in the best of ways and that really upset me, but I have to think about Sevilla's interests. I have to swallow my anger, because this club needs Fazio. I do not like swallowing my pride, but I am willing to do something I do not like because it is in Sevilla's best interest."

But Sport has now assured that the first-choice for Sevilla is Bartra instead. The Spanish publication claims that Unai Emery's side are also in negotiations with Spurs over Fazio but they have already made a formal offer to Barcelona to secure Bartra on loan until the end of the campaign with an option to buy him on permanent basis for €12m (£8.8m).

Bartra was already close to leaving the Camp Nou during the summer transfer window due to a lack of playing time, with reports in Spain claiming Tottenham themselves were interested in securing his services.

The 24-year-old eventually decided to stay at the club but his situation has barely improved in the first half of the season, with Javier Mascherano, Gerard Pique, Thomas Vermaelen and Jeremy Mathieu all ahead of him the Luis Enrique's pecking order.

With Bartra likely to keep his place for the Euro 2016 with Spain next summer, he may consider making the move to Sevilla to secure more regular time. If this is the case, Fazio will need to look somewhere else to find a new home as he is also likely to leave White Hart Lane after having failed to make a single Premier League appearance this season.