River Plate President, Daniel Passarella is travelling to Europe to try and sell some of his club’s assets to the highest bidder, namely the Torneo Final’s breakthrough star, Colombian defender, Eder Alvarez Balanta and the Funes Mori brothers, Rogelio and Ramiro, but with such limited first team experience is this a necessary move for River Plate?

Eder Alvarez Balanta’s meteoric rise to prominence has been remarkable given that he has only played 9 games for River Plate. The 20 year old central defender only joined River’s youth system in 2011 and hadn’t yet signed professional terms with the club when injury forced Ramon Diaz to throw him into the first team. Despite not being the tallest defender, Alvarez Balanta won many admirers with his performances. Strong in the air and the tackle, quick and a good reader of the game, the Colombian will no doubt make the move to Europe.

Inter Milan were said to be keen to sign him as he first emerged and River were quick to sign him professionally and ward off any interest by putting a  €12 million price tag on him. However, with the Torneo Final complete, Passarella is now ready to cash in. Monaco are now interested and if the mega-rich Mediterranean club are in the race then the price could sky rocket (Pasarella hopes for €14 million minimum). Meetings with Lyon and Udinese are also expected as River tour Europe looking for the best deal.

The issue with this is two-fold: Firstly, why do River need to actively tout their player? His performances have attracted enough interest and if an offer comes in which is too good to turn down then they can take it. But secondly, would Alvarez Balanta benefit from such a move? Having played only 9 games he is still learning and a move now to one of Europe’s elite would surely mean prolonged spells on the sidelines at a crucial stage of this development. With another season at River, possible involvement in a competition such as the Copa Libertadores, surely then the player would be more ready for the move.