TRANSFER TRACKER STATUS:Report
Update, 6:06 pm ET: Andrew Erickson of The Columbus Dispatch is now reporting that Crew SC have closed a deal for Valenzuela. He will be a Young Designated Player, and arrives on loan with an option to buy. To free up a Designated Player spot, Columbus will reportedly use Targeted Allocation Money to buy down Jonathan Mensah's cap hit.
Original Text, 4:11 pm ET: Columbus Crew SC are on the brink of signing 19-year-old left back Milton Valenzuela from Newell’s Old Boys, according to various reports out of Argentina.
El Ciudadano reported on Wednesday that Newell’s has accepted Crew SC’s $1.3 million bid for Valenzuela, who has just 15 appearances in the Argentine top flight since he turned pro in 2016. He has 10 appearances with Argentina’s Under-20 national team, two of which came at last summer’s U-20 World Cup.
Reports first popped up last fall that Columbus were interested in Valenzuela. Crew SC lost left back Jukka Raitala and Waylon Francis this winter, leaving them with Hector Jimenez as the only rostered player capable of lining up in the position.
