The sixth reinforcement becomes official: after trying to sign him for over a year, River finally acquires 21-year-old RB Alex Vigo from Colon. The club will pay $2M for 50% of the transfer, besides including Cristian Ferreira as an additional piece of the negotiation by sending him on loan to Santa Fe for a year. Good business imo, as Vigo is promising and it will be great for Ferreira to finally get regular playing time to continue his development. Surprisingly, there may be a 7th player joining us if we manage to reach an agreement by tomorrow before the transfer window closes: Matko Miljevic, a 19-year-old American-born creative midfielder of Argentine and Croatian descent, has been offered to the club as his contract with Argentinos Juniors expires in June and he's currently undergoing conflicts to renew, similar to what led us to buy Fontana. Gallardo has given the thumbs up, as he sees him as a good back-up option to develop for the future if the club can get him for cheap, even though he isn't necessarily a priority. 24-year-old Huracan forward Norberto Briasco has also been offered, although he'd be ineligible to play for River this season since he featured for his club over the weekend, so it's more likely he'd arrive in June if we move forward with that transfer. Hernán López Muñoz, meanwhile, has left on loan for 12 months to Central Cordoba as he wasn't in Gallardo's plans for the season. The Santiago del Estero side will have the option to buy 50% of player's transfer rights at any point during the loan for what is for now an undisclosed amount. In other news, Rafael Santos Borre --who still hasn't renewed his contract-- is being linked to both Palmeiras and Toronto FC. The Colombian has had the objective of returning to Europe for quite some time now, but perhaps if no other offers arrive he'll consider those alternatives as they both clearly can pay him better than River. We'll see... for now, the club is concentrating on trying to rake up a few million to buy the additional 25% of his transfer needed to extend his deal and thus avoid losing him on a free.
Technically transfer-related; Ponzio has confirmed that this will be his last year as a player, an unsurprising but sad announcement. I look forward to him sticking around at the club in a non-playing role, few players have shown as much loyalty to the institution as Leo Ponzio has. And here's hoping that Zuculini finishes polishing some of the rough edges of his game so that we can rest easy that someone is ready to take up his spot as the bedrock in the midfield.
Well it looks like they found a loan destination for Matias Benitez: Atlanta United 2 (reserves team that competes in the USL Championship), where he'll hope to make enough noise for Heinze to promote him to the first-team MLS side. The 12 month loan is free of charge, although the American side will have an option to buy the 20-year-old forward for an undisclosed fee. Benitez, who was a regular in our reserves team over the last two years, has a contract with River until December 2022.
After his unsuccessful loan with Banfield, Matias Moya joins Ñublense (Chile) on loan until the end of the year. The newly-ascended side will have the option to buy the 22-year-old midfielder for an undisclosed amount. Rafael Santos Borre's possible move to Palmeiras has collapsed, although Celta Vigo's sporting director confirmed the Spanish side's interest in signing the Colombian: "Intentar, intentaremos su fichaje, pero otra cosa es a dónde podemos llegar. Ya lo buscamos en su momento, pero ahora él está en una situación diferente", expresó Felipe Miñambres Toronto FC's interest in signing Rafa also remains. Athough the MLS side is said to be offering an inferior contract to the one Palmeiras offered, they would be willing to pay River a compensation for the move. In other news, River have signed Samir Steven Torres, a promising youth Colombian talent who personally impressed Marcelo Gallardo in action Former Colombian international Camilo Zuñiga had kind words to say about the kid: Según Camilo Zúñiga, Samir es un "jugador diferente", con "todas las condiciones". "Es un joven de 16 años de Chocó, lo teníamos hace un año en la fundación y es un joven con muchas condiciones", dijo. "Tiene características como Mbappé, me atrevo a decir. Es atrevido, rápido, muy rápido. En unos añitos vamos a escuchar el nombre de Samir con el favor de Dios". "Marcelo Gallardo vino acá, vio ese jugador, se enamoró y al final se ido la oportunidad de acompañarlo y acercarlo a River". "Yo sé que clase de jugador estaba llevando, entonces dije mejor lo saco del país y mire, gracias a Dios se dio la oportunidad".
I mean he has a loooong way to go... a lot of these "cracks" end up being nobodies in the long-run. Remember how promising the kid Abel Casquete looked when Gallardo gave him a chance a few years back, yet in the end we released him and now he can't even stand out in the Ecuadorian league... It is good to see River planning for the future though, especially with el muneco's seal of approval. Hopefully things pan out.... Right now we have several promising young Colombians in our youth divisions, including Londoño Bedoya -- cousin of Copa America champ Gerardo Bedoya
After Gallardo opened up the doors for David Martinez to have a second chance, all these club rejects have been coming out of the woodworks to tell the press about their dreams of returning... the other day it was Federico Andrada, before that it was Larrondo, and now we have Boye...
Tomas Andrade has terminated his loan with Argentinos Juniors, where he was getting very scarce playing time (just 89 total minutes played since joining 15 months ago), and consequently terminated his contract with River a year before it was due to expire. The 24-year-old midfielder will continue his career in Sud America (URU), who were recently promoted to the Uruguayan first division. Interesting to see how much the kid's career fell off, after being touted the "new D'Alessandro" by the media in his early days.. Andrade leaves River having represented el mas grande on 27 occasions, with no official goals and just two assists. He did, however, participate in both legs of our 2016 Recopa Sudamericana title, coming in as a sub on both occasions. In the end, though, this is the image most of us will remember him by:
As Rafael Santos Borre seems to be finalizing details for a move to Gremio in June, the Uruguay press has begun linking 24-year-old Liverpool (URU) striker Juan Ignacio Ramirez to River. Ramirez lead the goalscoring charts across all Uruguayan competitions in both the 2019 and 2020 seasons, finishing as the top-scorer of the recently-concluded Torneo Clausura (14 goals in 13 games) and the last two Torneo Intermedios (mini-tournaments) in the process. In total, he has scored an impressive 45 goals in 66 games since 2019. An interesting note is that Ramirez is well acquainted with Nico De La Cruz since the two shined alongside each other in Liverpool's U-20 team during the 2016 edition of the U-20 Copa Libertadores, where they lost in the final to Sao Paulo (each player scored 4 goals throughout the tournament). Of course for the transfer to go through River will most likely have to finish clearing off a long-held debt held with the Uruguayan club over DLC's 2017 transfer (~$1M) We also have to see what happens with Sebastian Driussi, who keeps flirting with a mid-year return on social media, but it does appears the club has begun setting their sights on a new, post-Borre offense. Then there's the situation with Lucas Pratto, who is eating nothing but bench in Holland (his last appearance was all the way back in January ).. from my understanding, Gallardo was bothered by the manner in which Oso departed and at least initially wouldn't have him in his plans after the loan concludes. However, if we can't find him a new destination, we may just have to make room for the former Velez striker given the heavy investment made back in 2018.
After reaching a pre-contract agreement to sign Rafael Santos Borre ($2M/year for 4-5 years + $6M sign-on bonus), Gremio have officially dropped out of the race for the Colombian forward: O Grêmio anuncia desistência formal na contratação do atleta Rafael Santos Borré. A decisão se fundamenta na insegurança gerada na hesitação do atleta, o que proporciona dúvida quanto ao propósito, disposição e vontade do mesmo em integrar o nosso elenco. https://t.co/vyk6OK5RPG— Grêmio FBPA (@Gremio) March 31, 2021 Coincidentally, Rafa had just met up with Gallardo last night to discuss the possible move and word was that muñe recommended he set his sights on Europe instead. Props to Borre for having his head straight and knowing what he wants, unlike others who have fled to even worse destinations like Russia or MLS at the sight of a first offer and then disappeared off the map. The kid would have made more than $15M if he accepted either the Gremio or Palmeiras proposals (it’s likely he wouldn’t be paid that much even in Europe), which to be honest are not bad destinations at all, but he seems to have bigger ambitions.
Juan Manuel Iturbe's contract with Pumas UNAM comes to an end in June and he is said to have been offered to River... The 27-year-old forward already expressed his desire to return in 2019: "Nunca tuve contacto con Gallardo. Yo siempre tuve ganas de volver a River. Si me llamara Gallardo o alguien de River, no lo pensaría ni dos veces. Si me llamara Gallardo, ¿cómo no lo atendería? River es un grandísimo club. Te abre las puertas de todo el mundo. Al club le tengo un cariño especial por el trato que tuvo la gente hacia mí. Nunca me quise ir, pero no dependía de mí" I don't know if he'll be of interest to Gallardo though, considering how he is a sub in Mexico and hasn't scored any goals this season. Plus, the development of youngsters like Girotti, Beltran, Rollheiser, etc. would be opaqued if we brought in another forward. However, given his transfer status as a free agent and the player's desire for a second chapter at the club, a thumbs up from Gallardo is all it seems it would take to see him with a River jersey again.
Although there aren't any short-term intentions, Eder Alvarez Balanta expressed his desire to one day return to the club: "Actualmente estoy jugando de número 5 aquí en Brujas. .... Cambié mucho del jugador que era en River, crecí mucho en lo personal, en decisiones y acciones de juego que gracias a la experiencia puedo manejarme mejor." "Me acuerdo las charlas que tenía con el Lobo Ledesma en River que me decía que debía disfrutar del fútbol porque pasa muy rápido, hoy con 28 años me doy cuenta lo que quería decirme." "Me gustaría volver a River y volver a vivir en Buenos Aires. Pasé muy buenos años ahí, no puedo decirte cuando sería. Vivo el presente y tengo la esperanza y anhelo del día de mañana poder volver. Gallardo me incorporó en mi carrera el tema de la intensidad como jugador, es algo que me quedó cuando estuve con él y lo aplico a mi carrera. Él siempre está en todos los detalles.Quiere que su equipo saque la mayor ventaja en todo lo que pueda", añadió Balanta. https://tntsports.com.ar/internacio...-la-Copa-Sudamericana-2021-20210420-0020.html I'd welcome him back if the opportunity arises... he was a very interesting player. On a side note, it's interesting that they now play him as a DMF in Belgium. I always said that I saw that as his ideal position, even back when he was a CB for River.
Dang! Remember when we had a trio of Colombians that played in the World Cup that year? Teo -> back in Colombia where I heard he’s doing alright. Carbonero -> disappeared completely and fell hard after he left River. I think he is playing second division futbol somewhere. The Black Mambalanta -> would love for him to come back.
Word now is that Rafael Santos Borre could stay in River past June: although River will lose their 50% of the Colombian's transfer once his contract expires next month (as will Atletico theirs), the club is considering negotiating a 12-24 month loan deal with Borre that would allow him to keep a future transfer fee while staying at the club. Of course he's still willing to listen to other offers in the coming weeks, but the likelihood of him staying at least another season increases by the day as nothing convincing arrives. Fabrizio Angileri went from being a scrub to being an absolute animal when it comes to crosses/assists, gaining not only the attention of Scaloni (who included him in the NT's Copa America preliminary list), but also clubs from Europe like Lazio and Valencia. The 26-year-old currently possesses a $17M contract release clause, but would be let go for less if a decent offer comes through. For now, just interests... Monterrey are looking for a goalkeeper and initially consulted Boca for Andrada. However, in recent days they also reached out to D'Onofrio to ask about Franco Armani. Neither the club nor the player are particularly interested in the move, so it would have to be a pretty tempting offer to make the 2-time Libertadores champion move to Mexico. Julian Alvarez's agent told the club to expect some formal European offers to be presented over the break. No names or numbers yet, but it isn't surprising that his form is drawing eyes. It'd be a shame if he leaves now though, because he was finally finding himself as a player and becoming integral to the team. While Gallardo would like to hold on to the roster for the remainder of the year, he pretty much has given players like Montiel and Borre the clear to leave if convincing offers arrive for them from Europe. On the other hand, he has requested that the club do everything in their power to retain Nicolas De La Cruz, as he feels there isn't a replacement for the Uruguayan in the squad. As for reinforcements -- Juan Brunetta, who Gallardo has been monitoring years, is about to conclude his loan with Parma and is set to return to Godoy Cruz. River is expected to inquire over the 24-year-old midfielder's transfer conditions, although Boca have now also gotten in the race. Alternatively, if a European offer arrives, the player would prioritize continuing in the old continent. Seba Driussi remains an option, while Emiliano Rigoni (who was previously sought by Gallardo in his Independiente days and was rumored to be a target for months now) is officially ruled out as Crespo's Sao Paulo announced him as a signing yesterday.
Cuando no? Boca going after River's transfer targets as usual https://www.ole.com.ar/boca-juniors/boca-oferta-norberto-briasco-huracan_0_rSXY5zekO.html Do these guys not have their own scouting team? Any time Gallardo becomes interested in a player they immediately hop on board
The Colombian goleador from our reserves team Flabian Londoño Bedoya is being sought by Huracan, San Lorenzo, and Gimnasia (LP) as a loan reinforcement for the upcoming season. Could be a good opportunity for him to gain minutes, although on the other hand it might be a better option for him to just stay in River and begin acclimatizing to the club. In other news, Gimnasia have also shown interest in Colombian/Venezuelan youth defender Thomas Gutierrez. The 21-year-old reserves defender, who Gallardo has been tracking for years now, does not possess a contract with the club and could technically leave as a free agent. However, River were waiting until September --when he'd reach 30 months at the club and would no longer occupy a foreigner slot-- to offer him his first professional deal. We'll see what happens. I assume he'll stay, but if el lobo or another club offers him a starting spot it may be tempting for him to make the move. As Sebastian Driussi continues insisting to Zenit that his desire is to return to River, the Russian club has begun analyzing possible offensive replacements for him. However, his contract is set to expire in 12 months, so before joining River on loan he'd also have to reach an agreement to extend his contract there prior to the deal. Villarreal have consulted over Julian Alvarez's transfer conditions. Still a long way to go for a deal to be reached, but the talks are real. We'll also have to see if he attracts more interest from other sides now that Scaloni has called him up for the NT. Bruno Zuculini informed Gallardo that he will analyze market options as he'd like to have a more prominent team role. Nothing on the table at the moment, but River would be willing to listen to incoming offers. Nahuel Gallardo has returned from his 18-month loan with Defensa y Justicia. In total, he played 17 matches during his stint (0 goals, 2 assists) and won 2 titles (Copa Sudamericana 2020 and the Recopa Sudamericana 2021). However, el Muñeco has already informed him that he's not in his plans and that he must seek a new destination. Apparently a few teams from Primera have already reached out seeking a possible loan, although the club is also analyzing other possibilities in South America (Uruguay, Paraguay, and Colombia). David Martinez is being watched by Ajax and an unnamed Portuguese side, although for now he wouldn't be going anywhere as he still has 6 months left on his loan deal with River. Lastly, 22-year-old leftback Francisco Ortega has been released as a free agent by Velez and is being considered by Gallardo as an option for defense if Angileri is sold. Ortega, who recently formed part of the Argentine U-23 NT, had received an offer from Velez to extend his deal there, but was said to be persuaded by his agent to seek new horizons. It's worth noting, though, that Angileri recently declared that his intention is to stay in River: “Como todo jugador uno siempre quiere seguir sumando carrera, pero estoy muy contento en River y no se me cruza por la cabeza irme. Se vienen los octavos y el nuevo torneo. Ahora quiero disfrutar las vacaciones pero quiero aclarar que quiero seguir en el club. No haber ganado una Libertadores con el club es una espina y es un objetivo que tengo en la cabeza y ojalá podamos levantar la Copa."
Enzo Fernandez is back 6 months before his loan with Defensa y Justicia was set to conclude https://www.ole.com.ar/river-plate/river-enzo-fernandez-defensa-mercado_0_VwwPP-gXY.html Unlike Nahuel Gallardo, Fernandez was pretty much the star in Varela. In total he accumulated 32 games, with 1 goal and 2 assists (both in the current edition of the Libertadores) Very interesting player to create plays from deep in our area He also scored DyJ's last penalty shot vs. Palmeiras in the shootout for the Recopa title: I'm excited for him to come back and be an alternative for Enzo Perez and Palavecino. Hell, even to put those three together would be very interesting, especially with the speed of De La Cruz, Suarez, and possibly Borre/Driussi up front. In return, it looks like we may be sending some reserve player(s) on loan their way. Benjamin Rollheiser, Lucas Beltran, and Nahuel Gallardo (once again) appear as possible options.
Enzo Fernandez showing his enthusiasm over his return: “Estoy feliz por volver al club que amo. Soy hincha fanático y me genera un poco de ansiedad, ja. Quiero disfrutar el momento, aprovecharlo al máximo. Ojalá pasen rápido los días.” I love to see these players who are actually passionate about the club (like Enzo Perez) In other news, Jorge Carrascal's agent admits he is holding talks with other clubs and a transfer is possible if one of the interests formalize: “Carrascal está feliz en el club, pero si llega una oferta y convence a River, puede llegar a salir. Tuve reuniones en Italia y España. Hay que esperar”, sostuvo Pablo Boselli, su representante en diálogo con TNT Sports y luego agregó: “Tiene el apoyo del DT y del club. Sin dudas, Gallardo marcó un antes y un después en la carrera de Jorge”.
Looks like Defensa is trying to block Enzo Fernandez's early return: "Enzo Fernández va a terminar el año en Defensa y luego vuelve a River como corresponde". ➡️Diego Lemme (@diegolemme1), anoche en #DefensaDebate🔰https://t.co/9a7wij7xso pic.twitter.com/kn7szdjL51— Sebastián Purgart⭐⭐⭐ (@sebapurgart) June 8, 2021 It's time for Rodo to give them the ultimatum.. tell them either send him back now and we'll keep sending you great prospects to build your team around, or hold on to him for 6 more months but then good look clinching your own reinforcements from now on.... Oh you're interested in that pibe from inferiores, eh? 20M cash or gtfo!
River is negotiating to buy David Martinez's transfer (he still has six months left on his loan, but there is no buyout clause in the contract) and Defensa y Justicia are said to want $4.5M (or possibly a bit more) for their 50% share of the defender's transfer. DyJ had previously bought him from River for a mere $900,000 (following a 12-month free loan), before sending him back our way just 6 months later. It is worth noting that not only are they asking for more than what they paid us, but they have also incremented the market value they had placed on him six months ago: following his performances with River, they are now asking for nearly 3x what they wanted in January (right before he returned they had accepted a $3.5M offer from Atlanta United for the full transfer, meaning they would have received $1.75M for their percentage -- nearly 3x less than what they want now). From River's perspective, it could still be a successful operation to buy him back, since now that he plays for the Paraguayan NT he'll be getting more attention. A few European clubs are said to be watching him, including Ajax, so in theory we could still earn that back. On the other hand $4.5M for 50% is a hefty price, especially when he had gifted him just a few months before he returned. Is his full transfer really worth 9M+? The other option is to just let him return to Varela at the end of the year, which wouldn't necessarily be a major loss since we still own 50% of his transfer and DyJ would likely sell him abroad. However he seems to be gaining importance in Gallardo's consideration and his passing ability could be useful within his tactics. With Maidana and Pinola in their last stages, he seems to be molding him for a long-term future. Where do you guys stand?
Buy him now. His value will rise for sure. But it sucks that someone messed up on selling him in the first place.