Looks like the possibility of Gonzalo Montiel going to Lyon have fallen. The French were offering a €4M transfer sum (to be paid in 4 different installments), as well as €2M in bonuses (€1M after 20 games played; €1M if they qualify for the Champions League next season). River completely discarded this offer, as not only was the form of payment far from ideal (we'd barely receive anything up front), but even after all the payments and bonuses it wouldn't reach the sum the club is looking for (~€8M; which is 12M less than his release clause) We'll have to see if Roma come through with an offer later this week, but for now cachete is staying for at least another 6 months.
Villarreal coming for Gonzalo Montiel... Ramiro Funes Mori's current team isn't prioritizing buying a RB, but the interest in the player is there and a deal may be reached if both sides meet halfway. ---- Our interest in Agustin Palavecino seems to be making noise in SA, as Palmeiras are now also looking to sign the former Platense midfielder who was virtually unknown to the world just days ago. River submitted an initial offer (loan with an optional buyout clause), although Deportivo Cali rejected it as they are looking for a transfer (or loan with an obligatory buyout clause). The Brazilians went as far as submitting a $2.5M offer for the full move, although that was also turned down. Now River's idea is to try to negotiate a deal for 50% of the player's transfer in order to not put a burden on the club's finances. Deportivo Cali's president on the subject: "No vamos a hablar de números, pero Deportivo Cali fijó su posición y dejó en claro qué es lo que quiere. Nuestro principal objetivo es extender el contrato de Agustín, aunque si River acepta la contrapuesta estamos dispuestos a vender al jugador." ---- Aldosivi are looking to sign Cristian Ferreira on loan, although for the moment a formal offer has yet to be presented. -- Not exactly transfer news, but Lucas Pratto is eating bench in Holland... although he started the first game he was available to Feyenoord in early January, he has been a substitute ever since (and with less minutes of participation each time)... in the last two games, he only played 6 and 14 minutes, respectively.... so much for leaving to "get playing time"
I'm more and more convinced that Pratto left because his contract was breaking the club's budget (since IIRC he had one of the highest contracts in the squad, and probably had clauses guaranteeing payment in dollars). I suspect that given the strong moves to bring in Palavecino, the board's expectation is that the most likely candidate to leave is Nacho Fernández since his suitors are in South America.
Ivan Rossi signs with Società Sportiva Sambenedettese (Italian Serie C), finally ending his contract with River after signing from Banfield five years ago. Although he is leaving as a free agent, River will receive 20% of a hypothetical future transfer of the 27-year-old midfielder.
Atlanta United said to be preparing an offer worth approximately $6M for Santiago Sosa. God damn it, Heinze! I was excited about this pibe’s future.
Santiago Sosa confirmed on the move to Atlanta United. As sad as I am about this transaction, this gives River the funds needed to sign Palavecino without having to sell Nacho (whose move to Palmeiras seems slightly less likely in the wake of Hulk's arrival).
If it’s between those two, I’d prefer Nacho Fernandez leaves tbh... Nacho is already in the final part of his career, while Sosa seems like a tremendous prospect who has grown immensely over the past year. Of course he could end up being the next Cirigliano, but I felt he was heading towards becoming our next 5.. with Enzo Perez turning 35 in 2 weeks and Ponzio being like 90, it was good to have a younger DMF to mold into the role over the next year. While Zuculini has his moments, I feel he has a ceiling where he can’t reach that next level... Sosa reunited both defensive and offensive skills to make him ideal for modern football, especially in Gallardo’s system. Nacho Fernandez on the other hand can be replaced directly by Palavecino, with players like Ferreira, Zucu, Carrascal, and Simon serving as alternatives. You could also put Enzo there and Sosa as the 5, or even Sosa in a Palacioesque role. Either way I’m not too certain it’s one player or the other leaving.. The Brazilian transfer window closes all the way in April and Sampaoli has been persistent on signing Nacho for quite some time.
I don't know how everyone else feels, but if an offer came in for Nacho I'd sell him as well. He just hasn't been the same player as of late. Didn't Riquelme or Maradona dub him as the best player in Argentine fútbol? Maybe a few years ago, but not recently.
The negotiations for Agustin Palavecino continue, and, although Deportivo Cali once again turned down our latest proposal, there is confidence that an agreement will be reached. River offered to buy 35% of his transfer for $1.75M, with an obligatory clause to buy another 15% in the future, but the Colombians want $2.5M now for their full 50% as they know River just received money for Sosa. Meanwhile, the player himself is not playing for the team in their domestic matches, perhaps indicating that it's only a matter of time before he arrives. As an alternative, River approached Gimnasia regarding Jose Paradela, for whom el lobo wants $2.5M to let go. Ezequiel Centurion, River's fourth goalkeeper, leaves on loan to Estudiantes de Caseros (second division) until the end of the year. The loan will be free of charge, although there won't be a buyout clause included. Similarly, Gallardo plans to loan out several other youngsters so they gain first-team experience. Lucas Beltran was offered to Defensa y Justicia, while Hernan Lopez Muñoz (Maradona's great nephew) could head out to Central Cordoba. Augusto Aguirre and Elias Lopez, two of the first-team's back-up defenders, will also analyze options, while Matias Benitez, a 20-year-old offensive winger/forward who signed his first professional contract last year, is being offered around. Benitez in last year's Copa Libertadores Sub-20: #RIVER | Lindo lujo de Matías Benítez en la Copa Libertadores Sub 20 contra Danubio. El delantero rosarino marcó el primer gol en el 3-1 sobre Danubio. pic.twitter.com/GspyMrfVJq— Germán Balcarce (@GermanBalcarce) February 17, 2020 Velez inquired about Bruno Zuculini, but River doesn't plan on letting him go at the moment, much less with Santiago Sosa's recent departure. Heinze continues his obsession with filling up Atlanta United with Argentine players and is now after David Martinez to prop up his defense. Defensa y Justicia are close to selling him for $3.5M, and allthough the 23-year-old left River a year ago, we'd receive $1.75M since we still own 50% of his transfer. Jorge Moreira remains a River player despite Racing and Libertad's interests, as neither club is willing to offer him a contract similar to the one he has with River. For now, he'll continue at the club til June 30th and continue occupying a foreigner slot. In terms of contract negotiations, River managed to extend the club's deals with Franco Armani (June 2023), Matias Suarez (December 2023), Cristian Ferreira (December 2023), and Gonzalo Montiel (December 2022; the idea is to sell him in the next transfer window if an acceptable offer arrives). Milton Casco may be next in line, as he hopes to sign until 2024 (his current contract expires in a year-and-a-half), while Rafael Santos Borre and Nicolas De La Cruz are the most urgent cases since they both have less than 5 months remaining. However, in both cases there are external matters to be resolved first (we must buy another 25% of Borre's transfer if we want to renew, while DLC is refusing to sign an extension until River clears their debt with the Uruguayan Liverpool).
It looks like there’s an initial agreement for Palavecino.. There were other clubs from Belgium and Brazil interested in him, but it appears his desire to play for River helped steer him our way. Meanwhile, in a turn of events David Martinez could actually return to River despite Atlanta United's offer, as Gallardo has asked D'Onofrio to look into Defensa y Justicia's demands for a transfer. River are attempting to buy back the 50% we sold to DyJ just 6 months ago for $1.2M -- $300,000 more than what they paid us. Martinez himself spoke on the subject and showed enthusiasm for a possible return: “Me gustaría volver, como lo vengo diciendo. Para mí River es el club más grande de la Argentina y también del mundo. Yo salí de ahi, y vivir ahí es hermoso. Obviamente no tengo dudas de que si me llega la oportunidad no voy a dudarlo, porque tengo todavía esas ganas de poder jugar con la Banda"
[AHORA] Maidana acordó su vuelta a River y firmará contrato en los próximos días. pic.twitter.com/wEkOT9zq5j— ElCanciller.com (@elcancillercom) February 8, 2021 This just broke on Twitter, Jonatan Maidana makes his return to River after becoming a free agent.
Gallardo on Sebastian Driussi: "Hace un mes tengo charlas diarias con Driussi, y nos encantaría tenerlo acá. Él está haciendo todo el esfuerzo posible, y estamos esperando que el equipo ruso defina la situación. Todavía no lo podemos confirmar. Pero no escondo que hablo con él casi todos los días a esta parte." !!!
David Martinez and Agustin Palavecino passed their physicals and are on their way to sign their contracts, becoming River's first reinforcements in the last 18 months (the last one was Paulo Diaz; mid-2019) As for Sebastian Driussi, it seems negotiations have fallen after one of Zenit's forwards (Malcom) suffered an injury, although it is likely a new attempt to sign him will occur in June. I'm thinking maybe Girotti and Beltran's good displays last night also made Gallardo reconsider just how badly he really needs another forward in the squad, especially since Seba's loan was going to be quite costly for the club. Speaking of Beltran, Colon have requested him on loan as part of the conditions to sell us Alex Vigo. River's initial offer of $1.5M for 50% didn't suffice, and although both clubs are trying to reach a deal (the player is very insistent on the move), an agreement must be reached soon: if he features today in Colon's debut match vs. Central Cordoba, he will be ineligible to play for River in domestic play the rest of the season. Augusto Aguirre and Elias Lopez are very close to becoming new Godoy Cruz players (on loan), as they have become even more relegated with the arrival of our new reinforcements (Martinez, Maidana, and possibly Vigo). Valencia are looking into Rafael Santos Borre's situation, although not necessarily for a club-to-club transfer: they know he currently has less than 5 months left on his deal and inquired with his agent about the possibility of signing him on a free in July. Lastly, Zacarias Moran Correa and Alan Marcel Picazzo, whose contracts were set to expire in June, have been released early as free agents. You might remember Picazzo as the young forward who debuted with a goal in 2017 and then never really played again, while Moran Correa was a promising DMF who unfortunately was plagued with a series of grave injuries that derailed his career.
Speaking of youngsters that debuted with a goal, whatever happen to that kid that scored against Sevilla in that one-off Euroamericana? Kaprof was his name
We sent him on loan a few times, but eventually he was released and signed as a free agent with Atletico Tucuman, where he didn't play much. After that he joined Arsenal de Sarandi, where I remember him actually having a pretty good season -- including scoring a goal on us in a 3-3 tie... if you want to get technical, that goal helped Boca win the league title as that season they finished only one point above us in the standings. After that 2019/20 season I didn't hear his name again tbh, but according to Wikipedia he spent a year in Italy with a Serie C side before signing with Liga de Quito just last week.
Alex Vigo didn't form part of Colon's roster today for their opening league match, indicating that a move to River is perhaps about to be sealed. D'Onofrio is keen on formalizing the deal before Monday, and both Lucas Beltran and Cristian Ferreira have possibilities of joining the santafesinos on loan as part of the transfer. Worth noting -- the Argentine transfer window officially closes on Thursday (02/16 at 18:00 local time), meaning there's less than a week for incoming negotiations to be finalized. The other player River will make an attempt to acquire by then is Jose Paradela of Gimnasia. Regarding the price tags of the recent reinforcements, Palavecino arrived for $1.8M (35% of the transfer; option to purchase another 30% in December), while David Martinez is arriving on loan for 12 months free of charge but without a buyout clause: both River and DyJ will conserve their respective 50% of the player's transfer rights. Martinez will still have 2 years left on his contract with Defensa after his loan with River expires, so in December we'll either have to negotiate a full transfer, or --as they're hoping in Varela-- he does well enough to warrant a bigger sale abroad than the $3.5M deal they had set with Atlanta United (discarded after Gallardo called him). In other news, Milton Casco extended his contract until December 2023 (he'll be 35 then). Robert Rojas also renewed until the same date, adding another 6 months to his previous deal.
... and Jose Paradela becomes reinforcement #4 $2.5M for 70% of the transfer rights; expected to sign a 4-year contract on Monday
Sampaoli is rumored to have his days counted in Atletico Mineiro and is even being linked to Marseille. I wonder if this will throw the whole Nacho Fernandez transfer out the window or the Brazilians will still move forward with the move...
River has taken advantage of Agustin Fontana's situation in Banfield (he was separated from the team due to not wanting to extend his contract), and signed the 24-year-old forward as our 5th signing of the current transfer window. $1.75M for 75% River will now continue moving to secure Alex Vigo as the sixth and final reinforcement. The two sides are expected to reach an agreement worth approximately $2M for 50% in the coming days..
Decent signings. Excited for Palavecino but I also had some tiny amount of hope for signing Driussi as well.
It seems that Nacho's exit to Brazil is finally confirmed; he will be missed, another worthy owner of the #10 relinquishing it too soon.
Suerte, campeon! Quite unfortunate he didn't get to leave with that second Libertadores title he deserved.. lifting the 2020 edition would have been a perfect way to end his memorable era. "Esperamos regresar, hacer los tres años en Brasil y volver para retirarse en River, porque eso es lo que quiere", sostuvo Daniel González, representante de Nacho, en diálogo con Sportia. ... nos vemos pronto?