Cristian Medina, Boca Juniors’ darling, is attracting people from all over the world.
The 21-year-old midfielder has previously been linked with a move to Premier League side Nottingham Forest. Nevertheless, Botafogo and Inter Miami are also apparently interested in the Argentina U23 international as well.
Recent reports claim that Botafogo has even submitted two separate bids for Medina. The Brazilian side first saw that their initial offer was a $7 million offer rejected by Boca Juniors’ management. However, Botafogo would be willing to increase its offer. to $8 million. It remains to be seen how much cash the Argentine club would like to sell the star.
Miami is also looking to outmaneuver its Brazilian rivals for the player. In fact, some other report claims that Major League Soccer has already submitted up to $7. 5 million to secure the signing of Medina. Boca Juniors seem to have patience about it and are still not accepting a payment for one of their prized young players. The South American giants would probably welcome an imaginable bidding war in negotiations.
Miami is said to be an attractive and imaginable destination for Medina due to the club’s existing ties to Argentina. The team’s coach, Gerardo “Tata” Martino, hails from the South American country and has even coached his national team before. Five existing players in Miami The list is also from the country. This notoriously includes superstar Lionel Messi.
Messi has a say in possible transfers at the club. Miami had already signed former Barcelona teammates Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba earlier this year. The club recently acquired star forward Luis Suarez as a free agent.
The aforementioned report claims that Messi likely even spoke directly with Medina about a conceivable transfer. Despite signing the World Cup winner, Miami failed to qualify for the 2023 MLS playoffs. However, the club is obviously looking to strengthen its squad ahead of the upcoming 2024 Campaign.
Despite his age, Medina played in 49 total matches for Boca Juniors this past season. This includes featuring heavily in the Copa Libertadores. Boca Juniors advanced all the way to the title match in the competition. The Argentine side, however, eventually fell to Fluminense 2-1 in extra time.
In 49 appearances this season, Medina managed to score five goals and provide six assists from midfield. Although he was used in a number of positions throughout the season, the youngster generally played as a central midfielder in four other seasons.
With several clubs looking to sign the beloved midfielder, Boca Juniors are in a comfortable position. Medina just signed a new contract extension in August.
The new deal means the 21-year-old phenom is under contract until 2027. Boca Juniors can now expect Medina to request a move and interested clubs to continue to raise their prices.
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