Mercado de Pases (River Plate TRANSFER News)

D'Onofrio confirms the rumored interest from Real Madrid for Exequiel Palacios::

"Hasta ahora creíamos que era todo falso, pero no. Lo confirmamos con el propio representante y desde River nos sorprende, si es como parece, que una institución señorial como el Real Madrid haya actuado en esta negociación directamente con el futbolista, sin respetar a un club como River y a sus espaldas"

 

Spanish press confirming that Exequiel Palacios's move to Real Madrid is a done deal ($20,000,000). He'd be moving in January (no 6-month loan deal as originally expected), hopefully after a CWC final win

 

I hear Abelairas is available for $15,000,000, and there’s also Jesus Mendez for $12,000,000 (50% of transfer, excluding bonuses)

Third option is Archubi, but they’ll only negotiate if Quintero and Scocco are included as part of the payment.

 

Regarding Palacios:

En principio se iria en enero, aunque no se descarta que lo dejen seis meses mas a prestamo.
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In other news, FC Basel (Switzerland) --same team that bought Eder Balanta-- have inquired about Alexander Barboza. However, for now they are simply interested in a loan (with buyout clause), while River is looking to sell him once and for all after multiple loan spells.

 

Gallardo observing two obscure, lesser-known players for the upcoming transfer window:

Nicolas Orsini, on loan at Sarmiento from a Japanese club, is a 24 year old forward who has scored 8 goals in 11 games so far this season. He played the first half of the year for Sportivo Luqueno (PAR), where he was mostly a sub. In the case that River makes a move for him, we'd have to compensate Sarmiento for terminating his loan 6 months in advance. Alternatively, they could use their contractual transfer buyout option prematurely and then sell him directly to River.

Agustin Palavecino, who plays as an attacking midfielder for Platense, is the other hidden card. He recently turned 22 and was key in the club's ascension from the Primera B Metropolitana last season. His recent form has also been very positive, including 3 goals to his name in the last 5 matches played.

It doesn't mean River will make a formal offer for either of these players, but Gallardo is keeping a close eye on them as he begins planning his moves for 2019.

 

The Chinese offer for JuanFer Quintero that I mentioned months ago has finally arrived, but for the moment would be turned down due to being inferior to what River is asking (at the moment, they are offering +/-$10,000,000 -- 15 million less than his release clause). Talks will continue...

As for his compatriot Rafael Santos Borre, there were rumors in recent weeks that he could be returning to Atletico Madrid at the end of the year (the Spaniards have an option in the contract to buy him back for 7 million euros). This interest has now been confirmed by Borre himself, who admitted he talked to Cholo after the Bernabeu final and that the two clubs are holding talks regarding his future. However, his agent later came out and said that he's staying in River, so I guess it'll come down to just how badly Simeone insists for his transfer.

 

The thing is that, at least from my understanding, their option to buy him back expires at the end of the year. If he stays in River past December, we are the ones who are obligated to pay another 3.5 million euros for another 25%. At that point River would own 75% of his transfer after paying a cumulative 7 million euros. While Atletico could always negotiate to buy him after that point, they would no longer have a fixed rate written on paper (one would imagine River would request 15-25 million, considering recent transfers)

So it might be in Atletico’s best interest to buy him at the end of the year. 7 million is nothing for a young star forward who will likely be playing in Copa America in a few months. It’s even more of a steal after deducting the amount River has already paid Atletico from that figure.

Of course they could also buy him now and then negotiate a loan with River to allow him to stay six more months or something. It just seems like a bad idea financially and footballistically for them to pass on this opportunity.

 

On another note, some rumors are talking about Falcao making a return in January. Could be the typical offseason humo already circulating, but it doesn’t seem too irrational considering he’s 32. We all know his passion for River (he always said he’d return), and we could use an extra forward next season as is evident by the happenings at the end of the current one.

Plus, with Copa America coming up it would be beneficial for him personally, considering how the Argentine league is more competitive than the French. Six months of fighting for everything with River rather than losing to the likes of Strasbourg and Angers weekly could do wonders for both his form and confidence leading to the copa. All this on top of having the opportunity to develop chemistry with Borre and Quintero

 

Gabriel Mercado’s contract expires in 6 months and nobody from Sevilla has contacted him to renew his deal yet

 

Apparently the Colombians want 10 million for him, which is a figure River wouldn't touch.

The only way he's coming is if they accept an inferior offer (<$5 million) for a percentage of his transfer

 

We just need to learn how to negotiate more firmly.. Pity ended up leaving for even less than his release clause after all. He renounced his 20% share of the transfer fee to even things out a bit more for River.

If there’s one thing Boca beats us at, it’s transfers. They buy cheap and sell high. Balerdi, with 8 (!!) professional career games to his name, is about to join Borussia for 12 million euros (+3 million more in bonuses), while we sold Pezzella —a gem who had won multiple international trophies and scored important goals — for 3 million, or practically just the “bonuses” the Germans are offering Boca.

Krannevitter left for 8 million being a NT player at the time and a Libertadores champ... Boca on the other hand is currently handling an 18 million euro offer for a random kid like Almendra, and it looks like they may even turn it down.

Betancur left to Juve for 10 million euros after having a mediocre season without any titles. To top it off, Boca reserved 50% of a future transfer fee, which could be huge now that he’s being linked to another European move.

Nandez, Barrios, and Benedetto are also all valued above $20 million by Boca. Further perspective: we received just $6 million for Lanzini’s sale!

And that’s not even getting into the genius deal they did with the whole Tevez to China and back saga.

It’s funny to me when Boca fans compare Angelici to Aguilar. Sure, they may share the similarity that they couldn’t win the Libertadores, but Tano is practically the opposite of Aguilar: Aguilar would destroy rosters and reinforce with names that wouldn’t even fly in Arsenal de Sarandi. Angelici, on the other hand, tends to maintain his players long term and bought practically every single name Guille and Vasco requested, often times providing them with 3-4 great options per position — unheard of in Argentine football. I get that in heated times it’s easy to point fingers, but for the most part Angelici has done everything he could to save them. It’s not the poor guy’s fault that Gallardo exists in the same world as him.

 

Of course you could argue that Boca are just masters of money laundering, which is logicial considering the connections between Macri, Angelici, and the casinos. Still doesn’t excuse D’Onofrio’s negotiation skills (exuberant fees for Pratto, De La Cruz, Lollo, etc; certain players undersold; all the free agents bs in 2015-16)

 

Could very well be true that there is no interest for the Chilean, but could also be a technique by D'Onofrio to not increase his price tag. Remember that he also played dumb before Enzo Perez arrived ("De Enzo Pérez nunca hemos hablado nada. ¿Cómo hacemos para pagar la cláusula de salida que tiene en Europa?"). Just three days later, his transfer from Valencia became official

Contrary to D'Onofrio's claims, the football world is going as far as saying River has already reached an agreement with Al-Ahli for an 18 month loan ($1,000,000 fee). The only issue at the moment would be related to the buyout clause: River wants to have a reasonable transfer option, while the Arab side is demanding an obligatory buyout at the end of the loan, as is more typical in Europe.

Could be humo.. Besides, if River acquires the Colombian Diaz, all of our foreigner slots would be filled up. Still, wouldn't rule anything out just yet..