Summit in Punta del Este between the leaders of River and Lucas Alario: do you have the possibility of returning?

In silence, River works on a long-desired return. And the beginning of 2024 can bring important news. The possibility of Lucas Alario’s repatriation is latent. Much more than other times. And from Núñez they will try to find the striker who shone in the final phase of the 2015 Copa Libertadores.

Alario is in Punta del Este, where he went to spend New Year’s Eve. And there he met the River managers and Leonardo Ponzio, a member of the technical secretariat and his former teammate. And the seduction talks began. In truth, they deepened. Because the messages with Alario are continuous.

In the middle of the year, when Pipa visited the Monumental, Martín Demichelis let him know that he would have liked to have him with him. At that moment the footballer was amazed by the work on the stadium and the state of the new playing field.

Alario spent his days in Argentina as he was due to undergo surgery for a right knee injury sustained earlier in the year. And then rehabilitation followed with Franco Bombicino, son of Jorge Bombicino. Both kinesiologists were part of Marcelo Gallardo’s coaching staff.

After that stage, Alario analyzes his future. And as this newspaper has learned, he no longer feels as comfortable in Germany as he used to. And the idea of ​​leaving the Bundesliga crosses his mind. In June, in fact, he admitted that he wanted to “go back”.

In 2023, before surgery, the 31-year-old center forward had barely 94 minutes of shooting time spread across 11 games at Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany, where he was relegated behind Kolo Muani and Rafael Santos Borré, who moved to the club in mid-year from Werder Bremen.

Borré’s future could be linked precisely to Alario. Chacho Coudet will bring the Colombian to Inter Porto Alegre. The Argentine coach also had former Colón on his radar. There have also been contacts between the managers of the Brazilian club and the player’s representative, but in the end they will remain with the man from Barranquilla.

AS, The door opens for River to go directly to deal with Alario. The player’s entourage admitted to Clarín that there were already contacts. But there’s a problem. Which? The duration of Eintracht Frankfurt’s contract, which expires in mid-2025. So either the player organizes a departure or there will have to be an outlay of money from the coffers of Udaondo and Figueroa Alcorta to buy him. Or maybe it can be resolved with a loan.

The dismissal of Salomón Rondón, who had already signed with Pachuca of Mexico, reduced the chances of turning for that role in River to two. Miguel Angel Borja (we’ll still have to see what’s in his future), a natural “9”, and Facundo Colidio, which Demichelis thinks of in that position and has already demonstrated it by using it in the final of the Champions Trophy, against Rosario Central. Behind them is Agustín Ruberto, top scorer of the U17 World Cup who began training with the Primera in the last working week of 2023.

Alario arrived at River in silence in 2015. And it would have been the second or third option. But Marcelo Gallardo bet big on that young man who had just scored in Colón, made him a starter in the semi-finals and final of the Copa Libertadores and the boy from Tostado quickly achieved glory, transforming Guaraní into Paraguay and Tigres. in the Monumental, the first goal of the 3-0 with which Núñez’s club became American champions after 19 years.

If Alario returns, he will meet other champions from that Cup who have already returned, such as Matías Kranevitter, Pity Martínez and Ramiro Funes Mori. And he will strengthen the policy of repatriation of exes pursued by the current leadership, which this year also envisaged the return of Manu Lanzini.

Two years after winning the Libertadores, in mid-2017, Alario left for Bayer Leverkusen, close to closing the transfer book and embroiled in controversy. But he left 11 million euros clean to the club. The German club had paid the release clause of 24 million euros gross and River was left with 60% given that Colón owned 40%.

But this is now behind us. And both the management, the technical secretary, Martín Demichelis and his technical staff, and the fans want Alario’s return. That is, the entire River Plate universe. And also the footballer. Will he happen in this market? We will see…