Colón kick off ‘Operation Clear-out’ with Joel Soñora, who’s next? | OneFootball

According to the sabalero coaching staff’s plan, October would be completed and in November they would have 21 consecutive days of leave. The directors are moving forward to agree on contract terminations.

After the break enjoyed by Colón’s squad upon finishing the last match against CADU at the Cementerio de los Elefantes, this Monday all members of the professional squad are summoned to return to work at the 4 de Junio training complex. What the coaching staff led by Ezequiel Medrán has outlined for now is as follows: finish out October with training sessions and grant a three-week leave at the very start of November. At the same time, as was already done with Joel Soñora, the objective of the directors is to activate the “Cleanup Plan” and keep the squad as streamlined as possible through contract rescissions.

For now, this Monday afternoon everyone returns to work together at the 4 de Junio training complex. Kevin Colli, Lautaro Gaitán, Matías Córdoba, Iván Ojeda, Conrado Ibarra, Zahir Yunis, Tomás Paredes, and Zahir Ibarra were the academy players singled out by Ezequiel Medrán to be “sent down” to the reserve squad managed by Martín Minella.

This group, unlike the other professionals, did not receive any leave, in a clear decision by the coach looking ahead. Against Estudiantes de La Plata, in the reserves’ last match (it was 0-0 at the rojinegro complex), Colón lined up: Piaggio; Ravano, Campagnaro, Luque, Lautaro Gaitán, García, Johnston, Galbán, Matías Córdoba, Iván Ojeda, and Kevin Colli.

The first termination agreement is the one reached with Joel Soñora; only the paperwork remains to be signed.

The other cases that are “on track” to terminate are those of José Barreto, Facundo Sánchez, and Cristian García. The most surprising is the defensive midfielder who arrived from Peru, signed for a year and a half, but in Santa Fe was plagued by constant injuries that prevented him from showing his abilities, and he was even seen playing 8-a-side football.

And the case that should fall by its own weight is that of Marcos Díaz, since the former Boca and Huracán goalkeeper has long been separated from Colón’s professional squad, training on an alternate schedule, at a different time and place from the rest.

Without a doubt, the directors have begun talks so that those whose contracts run until December can agree to their departures. It’s about negotiating these final three months (October, November, and December), when players receive their salaries without any competition in between. “All the clubs that missed the knockout rounds, and those that are eliminated this weekend, are in the same situation: the player knows he won’t continue and each institution wants to shed the obligation, considering those footballers will not stay,” is what’s being said in the world of lower-division football.

What would be ideal is to settle those departures now in October, since in November they will be granted the 21 days of leave required by Futbolistas Argentinos Agremiados for players.

As for the rest of the issues, the political focus is on a distant November 30 (elections), where the candidacies of Ricardo Luciani, Ricardo Magdalena, and José Alonso for the “Vignattismo” are official. Dr. Gustavo Abraham, with his historic group, must decide whether to run on his own or move forward with the idea of a “common sabalero front.”

Finally, looking at the calendar, the date of October 17 is cause for concern, as it is the deadline Colón has according to the CAS ruling to reach an agreement with Paraguayan player Alberto Espínola. The amount of 375,000 dollars plus 12 million pesos with their respective interest is very worrying in the Colón world, because the next step if there is no agreement is a FIFA transfer ban for the sabalero club, conditioning the next transfer window.

Colón set up a six-installment plan to pay, which was rejected by the Paraguayan defender. In recent hours, they considered reducing the number of installments, hoping that part of a significant sum will enter the club’s coffers. In this regard, they are looking to Vicente López (Platense owes for Picco) and also to Avellaneda (a USD 300,000 installment from the transfer of Alan Forneris is due). Another possibility, analyzed but almost ruled out for now, was to request a bank loan to be able to close the well-known “Espínola Case.”

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