Another rumor swirling is Diego Polenta. Honestly, I thought Mina would have been a great coup, and he was great in the first handful of games he played, but the last few weeks his been horrible. I would sell Mina and bring in Polenta in a heartbeat.
I think we shouldn't give up on Mina just yet. The guy has skill to improve his play. Most of the team is playing like garbage after those few first games. I also like Polenta as a replacement for Casco's cancerous ass. If we are to win tomorrow's game we need all the depth we can have for next year. I'm not sold on Buonanotte. The guy hasn't been the same since that car crash. But maybe a return to Nuñez might rejuvenate him. He's only 28.
The main reason I say to get rid of Mina is that he is out talking about how his goal is to go to europe, just days after he played a massive part in a pathetic performance against Boca. http://lapaginamillonaria.com/river...-si-sigo-en-river-o-doy-el-salto-hacia-europa Seriously, how can you be so stupid as to talk like that after the way he played Sunday? you have to really be shameless to talk about a move to europe just days after being humiliated.
I think the main question before we can talk about reinforcements is if River will participate in the Libertadores next year... If we don't win tomorrow, I can see a mass exodus.... D'Alessandro returning to Inter, Alario moving to Europe, Mina possibly finding new grounds, Alonso going back to Uruguay, Gallardo considering his future, etc, etc.. It'll be a completely different team depending on the fate of the Copa Argentina final. Not just in terms of who stays, but also who arrives to reinforce the team. Enzo himself admitted a few weeks ago that the names they are analyzing for the upcoming transfer window depends on whether or not we play the Libertadores... in other words, you can expect a bunch of free agents, 30-somethings, and medio pelo reinforcements if we're stuck playing just the torneo. Anyway, don't be surprised if the first arrival is Ariel Rojas. He failed completely at Cruz Azul, and both the club and the player are open to a transfer. It all depends on Gallardo really, who one imagines would welcome his return. (sorry @balazsriver10 ! )
LOL.. Just like when we tried buying their rightback Victor Salazar 6 months ago. Can someone explain the definition of a transfer release clause to Central's president?
We don't need Montoya. He is average. We need Carlitos Sanchez. I don't care what it takes, I'd pay money out of my pocket and i swear to it. The man is a legend. We need him. And lets not forget, he is argentine now. He wants to come home
I don't know.. I like Montoya. I think he could add a lot to the team, especially with D'Alessandro's departure. I just think it's comical that Central creates minimum release clauses with all their players but never want to honor them. If another team wants to pay the clause, they're "unethical" As for Carlitos, we all want him back Gaucho, but lets be real... theres no way the Mexicans will let him go. He should have never left in the first place, but that's another story
After the good news that Gallardo will stay for another year, Alario stated today that he doesn't plan on going anywhere. Of course this could all change if a 18 million euro offer arrives from Europe, but it's fantastic news to hear that Lucas himself is planning on staying (unlike lesser important players who fantasize daily about playing in the old continent)
The Ecuadorian pibe we were recently discussing is going to be on the move (temporarily..... hopefully).. 19-year-old Abel Casquete is going to be sent out on loan to his home country to play for Barcelona de Guayaquil. Barcelona, arguably the biggest club in Ecuador, just won the 2016 league title earlier this month and will be competing in the Libertadores next year, where they have been drawn alongside Atletico Nacional and Estudiantes in the group stage. He will be there on loan for a year and should gain some very valuable first team experience. I would have liked to see him in River, but if he's not going to be playing on our first team he might as well pick up Copa minutes elsewhere. Hopefully he returns. For now, he's expected to.. but I remember Cazares originally left on loan (coincidentally to the same club) before he ended up being mysteriously released to Banfield. No hagas nada raro D'Onofrio! Suerte pibe!
The Cazares ordeal was certainly shady the way he just ended up at Banfield for free, then when he became a star there as we all predicted, he was sold for big money to Atletico Mineiro, and River didn't receive a dime. I can't remember if this whole fiasco happened under D'Onofrio or DAP's watch, but lets just hope this time around Casquete does return with much needed experience. In other news involving loans, Augusto Solari's loan to Estudiantes has expired. They had until December 1 to tell River if they were going to exercise the option of 1.6 million for 60% of the kid's transfer, which they didn't do. So while people are still speculating what will happen, the bottom line is Estudiantes and their laughable manager Augusto Alayes had a deadline and they didn't follow through in time, so the kid should return. Incidentally, I heard a rumor that Mayada is close to moving to Flamengo. If this is the case, I'd welcome Solari back with open arms. I think Mayada is a better player, but Solari has improve at Estudiantes, and Mayada is just not part of Muñeco's plans in his preferred position. In that case, Solari is the better option because he is a pibe from the club and Mayada leaving would open up a foreigner spot for someone more important... Polenta? Again this is all humo as of now, but I think it is a waste to have someone like Mayada occupying a foreigner spot if he isn't going to be important, while someone like Solari could basically complete the same function and allow us to sign an important foreigner in a position we need.
I've been dying to see Mayada as 8. He was the ideal replacement for Carlos Sanchez. Then D'Alessandro came around, so they had to modify the formation a bit to fit him in. Now that D'Ale's gone, I was hoping they'd finally give Mayada a run in his natural position. It would be a shame if he left the club without getting a fair shot, because he definitely is an interesting player
Rojas is lobbying for a return to River: http://lapaginamillonaria.com/river...ul-ariel-rojas-se-postulo-para-jugar-en-river Now I know River never returned to play as well since Rojas left, he did give that team balance. However, maybe he was helped by the fact that he was surrounded by a Kranevitter at the peak of his power, Carlos Sanchez playing at an absurdly high level, and Ponzio 2 years younger. Not to mention Teo who offers far more involved the build up play than any forward we have now. For the Sudamericana, we also had a true enganche in Piscu, something we no longer have. Is this guy really any better than Nacho Fernandez? Especially considering the current personell? Then theres the fact that he left the club for free without us getting a dime. It would mean paying twice for the same player. I know Teo also left the club in the middle of the Libertadores, but he left 3.5 million dollars in the club's bank account. Sanchez left for free, but he stayed all the way to the mundial de clubes. This guy just walked away and left us with nothing Then, there the last issue I have... He committed the stupidest penalty in River history vs. Racing. Had it now been for Chichizola, none of what happened since then would have happened. No Sudamericana, No Libertadores, No Recopa, No Mundial de Clubes participation. This guy almost single handedly ended all our dreams before they even started. Then he also committed the penalty that became legendary. Of course, in hindsight, it was great that Rojas committed the penalty because nothing has been more embarrassing for the bosteros than the Gigliotti penalty being saved by Barovero, but at the time, it was an even stupider penalty to give away than the handball against Racing. So yea, I also think that in a market when we have only 2 reinforcements, I think we would be wasting one on Rojas, also because he is just simply not that good. With only 2 reinforcements, we need to make sure they are serious difference makers, not just someone who gives "balance" to the team without ever truly stepping up
The Uruguayan press is linking Polenta heavily with River, even stating that Gallardo called him before he left for vacation http://www.ovaciondigital.com.uy/futbol/polenta-mercado-racing-river.html They are also saying Racing is interested, but I don't see him going there. River has the Libertadores while Racing only has the torneo local where they are doing even worse than we are, sitting in tenth place. I seriously don't think there is anyway a player would choose Racing over River, especially considering that River has always been a good home for Uruguayan players. Hopefully this deal goals through and we can build a defense capable of winning the Libertadores and going back to Japan. If Polenta does indeed join, who/what position would you guys want to see be the second reinforcement, considering we only have 2 spots?
With D'Alessandro moving out we need an attacking midfielder at his spot? But who else is available? Pity is too inconsistent and Mayada seems to not be in Gallardo's plans.
I'd be happy with "Chori" and Polenta. A veteran attack minded midfielder and a young defender that'll probably represent Uruguay at the Senior level for many years to come.
I heard a rumor that Sampaoli wants to take Polenta to Sevilla. Don't know if its humo or not, but lets hope its not true. I also heard that Peñarol is trying to sign Mayada. I have no idea if this is true either. Peñarol is currently in the relegation places in Uruguay. Do they have the money to pay Mayada's transfer fee? Or to pay his salary? I don't see it.
Will that matter with these directivos? With their track record, Mayada will go on a year-long loan to Peñarol with River paying his whole salary and getting nothing in return.
Apparently Solari, who is officially a River player again, is not in Gallardo's plans and he won't travel with the squad to the US on Sunday: http://www.ole.com.ar/river-plate/Solari-hola-chau_0_1717628249.html So, I guess this means Mayada is staying, which is a good thing, but I don't think keeping Solari would be a bad thing. He was decent at Estudiantes, and with the Copa in which we have 3 long road trips and 2 matches in high altitude, we will need to rotate the squad quite a bit and he could possibly be useful... Lets just hope wherever Solari ends up, River doesn't end up paying most of his salary