Estudiantes have confirmed that homegrown hero, Guido Carrillo is finally set to leave La Plata after accepting a bid of $10 million from French club Monaco. The 24-year-old centre-forward has been linked with a move to Europe for sometime now and after accepting that he had played his last game for El Pincha this window was always likely to be the moment he made the step up. Carrillo is now travelling to France to put pen to paper on a five-year deal with the third-placed Ligue 1 outfit.

Few could deny Guido Carrillo a move to Europe after progressing from the youth sides and developing with Estudiantes into one of the finest strikers in the Argentine Primera. At 24, the time is right and it is refreshing to see a player remain in Argentina until this age rather than leave as a teenager with little first-team experience. The transfer was inevitable and on Saturday, Estudiantes released a statement to say:

“In meetings held this afternoon between officials at the highest level headed by President Juan Sebastián Verón, the transfer of Guido Carrillo to Monaco of the French league was agreed.

Moreover, the player also gave the go-ahead and accepted the terms of the $10 million agreement.”

It is understood that Carrillo is en-route to the South of France to finalise the deal and sign a five-year deal worth €3 million a year. Quite the pay-rise for the Estudiantes youth product and a good deal for Monaco considering the level of interest in a centre-forward who has scored regularly both domestically and in the Copa Sudamericana and Copa Libertadores. If reports are to be believed then the third-placed French club beat off Porto, Inter Milan, Olympiakos, Anderlecht and Borussia Dortmund to capture the striker.

So what are Monaco getting? At 6 foot 3 inches (1.91 metres) Carrillo is a powerful number nine, capable of playing with his back to goal and bringing others into play but posing a real threat in the penalty area from crosses and set-pieces. His presence in the attack makes him ideal to play as a lone striker, as has often been the case for Estudiantes in the past year, but he could just as easily play in a 4-4-2 alongside another striker with wingers providing width and delivering crosses into the box. His build-up play is good and his movement and positional sense around the penalty area is excellent. Smart runs and being alert around the six-yard box have made Carrillo equally dangerous with the ball into his feet in the penalty box. Additionally, Carrillo has emerged as a real leader on the pitch for Estudiantes and has captained the side on a number of occasions.

For all of these reasons, he will be a huge loss to Gabriel Milito’s side who must now replace their main source of goals and focal point of their attack before the second half of the season resumes. Mariano Pavone is being linked with a move to La Plata as his contract with Vélez is up for renewal but any incoming striker has big boots to fill.