Bayer Leverkusen received €25m for Grimaldo, and Sport Bild reports that the Bundesliga side have identified the 22-year-old Como full-back as a leading candidate to fill the void left by the Spaniard's departure.
Valle, a Spain Under-21 international who came through Barcelona's academy, shares a similar profile to Grimaldo: a technically gifted left-back who offers plenty going forward but carries limitations defensively. According to Sport Bild, a deal for the left-footer would cost in the region of €20m.
He is not the only option on Leverkusen's radar. Arsene Kouassi, 22, of Ligue 1 side Lorient is valued at a similar fee and remains under consideration, while there had also been talk of a possible move for veteran full-back Raphael Guerreiro, 32, though that particular link is understood to have gone cold in recent weeks.
Grimaldo's exit brings the curtain down on three productive years at the BayArena, during which the left-back scored 30 goals and provided 45 assists in 145 appearances, playing a central role in Leverkusen's Bundesliga and DFB Pokal double under Xabi Alonso in 2024, a campaign that remains the only unbeaten season in German top-flight history.
He arrived at the club on a free transfer from Benfica in 2023, a deal that has since come to be regarded as one of the shrewdest pieces of business in recent Bundesliga history given his subsequent impact.
Finding a like-for-like successor capable of replicating his creative output from full-back represents a significant challenge for the club as they prepare for the new season, with Leverkusen keen to move quickly given the calibre of player they are losing.
Grimaldo's departure leaves a considerable creative void in Kasper Hjulmand's side, and with the transfer window well underway, sporting director Simon Rolfes will be eager to have a successor in place before pre-season preparations intensify.