River extend Santiago Lencina’s contract, sets €100m release clause | OneFootball

After a longer-than-usual negotiation and having been left out of the substitute bench in two of River's most important matches of the year (Independiente Rivadavia and Boca), Santiago Lencina renewed his contract with the institution until December 2029 with a release clause of 100 million euros, just as his representative Juan Cruz Oller had anticipated a few days ago on TyC Sports.

Behind Lautaro Rivero, the 20-year-old from Chaco was the youth player in whom Marcelo Gallardo had shown the most confidence during the second half of 2025. He saw minutes in the Copa Libertadores and was a starter in seven matches in the Clausura. For this reason, and considering the team's low performance, his absence from the substitute bench in two crucial matches suggested that the decision was non-football-related.

The negotiation took longer than expected. Despite the fact that the intention of both the player and River's management was the same, the call from the club to sign the new contract did not come until this week.

These back-and-forths in the negotiations are the only factor that could explain why a youth player who performed excellently every time he was on the field was left out of the bench. Therefore, it is expected that after the renewal, he will at least return to the substitute bench for the crucial match against Vélez next Sunday.

Lencina debuted on August 4, 2024, with River's First Team, in a 0-0 draw against Unión in the Professional League when Marcelo Escudero, who had him in the Reserve, was the interim coach following Martín Demichelis's departure. Last year he didn't play anymore, but this year, especially from the second half, he began to gain more prominence. In total, he has accumulated 21 matches with the Red Band and has scored three goals: two against Instituto and one against San Martín de San Juan, all in the Clausura.

River secured him with a 100 million euro clause, a common practice with those youth players who sign their first professional contract and have great potential or with players the club hires who have resale potential due to their young age, like Facundo Colidio or Juan Carlos Portillo, for example.

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