Roma recruit Argentine starlet Lamela
Reuters - Saturday 09 July 2011, 18:36
MILAN - AS Roma have signed
19-year-old Erik Lamela, one of Argentina's brightest
prospects, the president of River Plate told Italian media on
Saturday.
"Lamela is an AS Roma player," former Argentina captain
Daniel Passarella told reporters after meeting AS Roma
officials. All that remains to do is to register the contract
with the federation."
Italian media said Roma would pay River Plate 12 million
euros for the player who made his Argentina debut in a friendly
against Paraguay in May. He has been offered a five-year
contract.
Lamela, a tall, elegant, left-footed player, made an impact
last year with his performance in the derby against Boca Juniors
and had attracted interest from Barcelona several years ago.
Despite his pedigree, Lamela, who made his professional
debut two years ago, was part of the River Plate team which was
humiliatingly relegated to the Argentine second division this
season.
Lamela had already told his fans about the move on Twitter.
AS Roma, who finished sixth last season to qualify for the
Europa League, last month appointed former Barcelona and Spain
player Luis Enrique as coach.