Emanuel Reynoso completes Minnesota United move – reasons for the Loons to be excited

· by · in boca juniors. ·

It may have taken the best part of a year to complete but Minnesota United finally confirmed the signing of Emanuel Reynoso from Boca Juniors.

The 24-year-old completed a transfer reported to be in the region of $5 million signing a deal until December 2023 as one of Minnesota’s three designated players.

“It’s been a long, drawn-out process but we’re finally glad we’ve got it over the line. We feel as though we’ve got one of the best players in the league,” head coach Adrian Heath told the club’s official website.

“This is a guy we’ve been following now for maybe a year or so. To finally get him in here is going to be a huge relief for me, a huge relief for [Emanuel] because I know it’s something he’s wanted. He’s had other opportunities elsewhere but he stuck to his principles. He’s always wanted to come here. We’re looking forward to welcoming him in to market and I’m looking forward to see what he can do with this group of players because it’s another huge piece for us moving forward. A great addition to the squad. I’d like to thank the ownership group, who’s obviously gone out on a limb and spent an awful lot of money on this guy so we’re just really pleased to get him in.”

Heath’s pleasure at the signing is clear and the Minnesota coach is absolutely right to suggest that Reynoso has the capability to be one of Major League Soccer’s outstanding players.

Bebelo’s two and a half years at Boca Juniors could perhaps be viewed as a little underwhelming given his failure to ever truly stamp his name on the first eleven yet there are mitigating factors that should not distract from his very evident talent.

Signed in January 2018 after impressing in a Talleres side that had risen from Argentina’s third tier since Reynoso’s senior debut, the youngster struggled to reproduce those performances on a regular basis. Manager Guillermo Barros Schelotto didn’t see much use in Reynoso as a number ten and his absence in the knockout stages from Boca’s run to the Copa Libertadores final highlighted this.

Gustavo Alfaro’s appointment in 2019 provided further opportunities on the left of the midfield and despite it not being the most natural position, Reynoso’s trickery and eye for a pass was evident.

“I like the league a lot because it’s growing every day,” Reynoso told the club’s website.

“My hope is to connect with the team quickly, place my little grain of sand to keep this team moving forward and together we’ll accomplish great things for this organization.”

A semifinal place at the MLS is Back Tournament and 11 points from their opening seven regular season games, Minnesota are well placed to kick on and in Reynoso have a player capable of acting as a catalyst for that.

“We feel we have added a talented, young, motivated number 10 joining an already strong team,” said MNUFC Technical Director Mark Watson.

The Loons scouting of Reynoso over a period of time clear from Watson’s comments, the idea of playing the 24-year-old in his natural position linking play in the attacking third carries great promise.

“He’s a very versatile player who played many positions at Boca Juniors but we will look to play him higher up the field and get him closer to the box to help us create and score goals.

“Obviously, negotiations were very prolonged and complex but at the core of it was that Boca was very reluctant to let him go. In the end, it was the player who made this deal happen with his desire to come to Minnesota. He has great character, energy and work rate that will be a good complement to our club culture and philosophy.”

MLS is becoming an increasingly common move for Argentinian talent and Reynoso is another fine addition. The league and Minnesota have every right to be excited to what Bebelo can bring.