Exequiel Palacios Agent: “Real Madrid will make a formal offer in the coming days”

It is one of the worst kept secrets in football, Exequiel Palacios to Real Madrid. It is more of a question of when, than if. The 20 year old center midfielder has already had the chance to strut his stuff in the Bernabeu after the Copa Libertadores final, where River Plate defeated bitter rivals Boca Juniors in extra time by a score of 3-1. The performance of Palacios was covered exclusively by Managing Madrid. According to Spanish publication, Marca—Renato Corsci, the players agent has come out once again, speaking about the imminent move. “The leaders of River got together with Real Madrid in Abu Dhabi. In the coming days there will be a formal offer and the operation is quite advanced” he commented. Many media outlets had suggested that Palacios would form part of the team in January, but Corsci’s words suggest otherwise: “The family, Exequiel and I want him to go in June and Real Madrid don’t have a problem with him staying at River until then. Real Madrid want him and supposedly River will sell. They agree, so between Monday and Tuesday the formal proposal will be presented.”

With the emergence of Marcos Llorente and the improved playing time for the likes Dani Ceballos and Fede Valverde, both of whom are a level above Palacios at this time, it would not make sense to rush him into a team where there would be very few minutes available. The decision to wait until July is an astute one from both player and club as the summer will likely bring changes and a better understanding of what role the Argentine can play, if any, in the 2019-2020 season.