Argentinian giants refuse to rule out sale.
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Argentine giants River Plate have refused to rule out the sale of highly rated defensive starlet Eder Alvarez Balanta and have instead placed a €15m (£12.7m) price tag on his head, Sky Sports reports.
The 20-year-old was recently linked with a move to Spanish champions Barcelona as they continue the search for an ideal replacement for the ageing Carles Puyol.
River’s vice president Omar Solassi told Catalan radio that while the Blaugrana have not made an official approach they understand what his club want.
“Balanta is worth €15 million,” the River director told Esports COPE.
“He is a great player with a great future.
Solassi also believes that Balanta would fit in to life at Camp Nou because he could offer coach Gerardo Martino something different to what he already has there.
“We would listen to offers for him, but Barca have made not official offer to us for him,” he continued.
“I think that Balanta would be liked by Tata Martino It would not seem odd to me if Barca are interested in him.
“He is a player that will come good whichever team he plays for.
“Balanta is not like Mascherano nor like Pique. He is a different sort of player with more presence. He is a strong defender, is good on the ball and knows how to play going forward.”
River currently own 80 per cent of Balanta’s rights while the player’s family own the remaining 20 per cent.