There are 30 players of Saint Lawrence which they put fully into the most demanding part of the preseason already on Uruguayan soil, in Barca complex from Punta Rieles, Montevideo. There is no new face among them, even if the arrival of the Chilean is expected alex ibacache (this Tuesday the review would take place in Argentina and then travel) e Battle of Augustus. And finally, Ruben Darío Insua has received very bad news confirming that he will not be able to count on Juan Ignacio Méndez, who rejected San Lorenzo’s proposal to go to Vélez.

The Galician he had already used up Colombian defender Cristian Zapata. And now he has lost the central midfielder who was ordered from the middle with a great performance during the second half of 2022. The Cyclone coach wanted to keep him at all costs and the management held negotiations until this weekend. But the outcome was negative for those of Boedo and positive for those of Liniers.

Why did Méndez leave San Lorenzo to go to Fortín? The reason is purely economic. The 25-year-old midfielder had arrived as a free player in the rossorosso institute in the middle of last year and had only signed on loan until December because his intention was to emigrate abroad.

He played 19 games (17 as starter) and scored a goal dressed as a crow. He quickly took control of the center circle and brought balance to the team. Insua considered him essential and for this reason she spoke to him at the end of the year to keep him. “He told me that he wants to continue,” the Barça coach expressed last week.

But his desire collided with the opposite decision of the footballer born in Luján de Cuyo who ended up choosing Vélez. Both clubs offered to buy him half of the pass and a link for three years. The difference, of course, was in the numbers. as he learned clarionit was $300,000 that separated Cyclone’s proposal from Liniers’.

San Lorenzo offered him $750,000 for half his chips plus a raise in his salary. But in Vélez they raised the figure above one million. And the discussion is over.

“San Lorenzo has offered the maximum of its possibilities within a budget that does not compromise the institution. It has not been accepted. For our part, we have come this far”, explained da Boedo.

Thus, the search for a central defender is now added to that of a branded midfielder since Néstor Ortigoza retired from that position and the alternatives of Jalil Elías and the boys Siro Rosane and Francisco Perruzzi remain.

A name that pleases is that of the Colombian Carlos Sánchez, 36, released by Independiente Santa Fe de Bogotá. He emerged in Danubio in Uruguay but debuted in River in Montevideo. He then made the leap to Europe where he passed through Valenciennes in France, Elche in Spain, Aston Villa in England, Florentina in Italy, Espanyol in Spain, West Ham and Watford in England. And in 2021 he returned to his country.

He played three Copa América and the 2014 and 2018 World Cups with the Colombian team. Insua is interested since he can also play as a defender. If they reach an economic agreement, their arrival could be finalized in these days.