Kevin Amaro, Román Vega, Luciano Gondou: River's missed signings | OneFootball

With the qualification for the Copa Sudamericana confirmed after Boca's elimination against Racing in the Torneo Clausura, River begins to outline its squad for 2026. In this regard, Marcelo Gallardo has prepared a folder with several names. For some of them, the management led by Stefano Di Carlo has already started negotiations, while three others have been ruled out due to the excessive valuation imposed by their respective clubs. Find out who they are and what alternatives exist in each case.

The first of them is Kevin Amaro, a 21-year-old Uruguayan right-back who can also play as a wing-back and even as a winger on that side. An important player at Liverpool in his country, where he came through the youth ranks and debuted in 2022, and considered by Marcelo Bielsa for the national team, the Montevideo native is one of the most expensive players in Uruguayan football.

"The price for Kevin Amaro is 10 million dollars for 70%," stated José Luis Palma, president of the institution, in an interview. Although there was a negotiation between Mariano Barnao, Gallardo's trusted man, and the leaders of the Uruguayan capital team, both positions were very far apart, and River withdrew.

There have been no inquiries or offers for another player in that position yet, but it is expected that River will strengthen that sector as Fabricio Bustos might leave the club in this market.

On the opposite side of the field, River ruled out Román Vega, a desire of Marcelo Gallardo in recent markets. In fact, this winter he was about to join the club from Argentinos Juniors, but at the last moment, Zenit from Russia appeared and paid nine million euros for 90% of the transfer.

However, he did not have the prominence he expected: he played only seven of the team's 18 matches in the Russian Premier League and seven of the eight in the Russian Cup, where they were recently eliminated by Dynamo Moscow. In a recent interview, he expressed that he would not mind wearing the Red Band and that he has the desire to return to Argentina.

However, Zenit is not willing to sell him for less than what they paid and would not negotiate a loan either. For this reason, the Millionaires began to look for other options, and currently leading the race is Julio Soler, captain of the Argentine National Team in the U20 World Cup, but with very little participation at Bournemouth in England.

With the departure of Miguel Ángel Borja, whose contract expires on December 31, and the possible exit of Facundo Colidio, River will seek a center forward in the next market. One of the names targeted by Gallardo was Luciano Gondou, with a past in the club's youth ranks and who left fond memories at Sarmiento de Junín and Argentinos Juniors.

In the middle of last year, he was sold to Zenit in Russia for 12 million euros, and his situation is similar to Vega's: he is not a guaranteed starter and would not mind leaving. What's the problem? The Russian team is asking for a figure close to 14 million euros for his transfer and is also not willing to negotiate a loan. As with the right-back position, there have been no inquiries or offers for other names yet.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.