River step up chase for Fausto Vera, Gallardo’s top midfield target | OneFootball

The Millionaire has already initiated the first contacts with Atlético Mineiro to arrange a loan with a purchase obligation for the former Argentinos Juniors player, whom Gallardo had already pursued at the beginning of 2025.

With specific objectives in mind, River has already entered the transfer market to strengthen a squad that has lost several key players. And one of its first targets is, once again, Fausto Vera, a long-standing desire of Marcelo Gallardo. The Millionaire has already made initial contact with Atlético Mineiro and opened negotiations for a loan with a purchase obligation.

Under the new transfer policy led by Stefano di Carlo, the intention is, at first, to seek loan deals that lead to permanent transfers once certain objectives are met, in order to avoid paying exorbitant sums for players who end up not being part of the team. In this vein, the first proposal was made to Galo, who now has the ball in their court.

The truth is that, recently, Vera has lost his place at Atlético Mineiro and the club would be willing to negotiate, although they aim to recover the nearly five million dollars invested in mid-2024. Now it remains to be seen whether they will accept working on a loan deal or if they will demand the purchase of all or part of his rights. According to the specialized site Transfermarkt, his current market value is five million euros.

This is not the first time that Muñeco has requested the former Argentinos Juniors player. In addition to some approaches when he was still at the La Paternal club, the coach insisted on his transfer in January of this year. In fact, there were contacts with his entourage and with the people at Mineiro, but ultimately the negotiations never even began.

In recent days, Vera was asked about a possible move to River or Boca, and his response made it clear that he was interested. “I know the greatness of both clubs; from a sporting perspective, it would be a big step in my career”, he said in an interview with DSports Radio.

His stance compared to January has changed, as his position in the Belo Horizonte team is no longer the same. After arriving from Corinthians at the request of Gabriel Milito (his former coach at Argentinos), Vera had six months of significant prominence. He was the central midfielder for the team that reached the 2024 Copa Libertadores final, which even eliminated Gallardo’s River with a landslide victory.

But 2025 found him on the decline. He started as a starter, but gradually lost his place and now, with the arrival of Alexsander from Al Ahli, Jorge Sampaoli does not consider him a priority. In fact, he did not play in the Copa Sudamericana final against Lanús and, if you add the last two rounds of the Brasileirao, .

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