The Story of Two Brothers And A Redondo Look-A-Like

While there have been plenty of stories covering Gonzalo Higuain's move to the Spanish capital for just under $18M, we have two more moves in Argentina that are on the verge of being finalized. First we go to the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Mataderos where first division club Nueva Chicago is getting ready to lose one of it's star players, Federico Higuain, Gonzalo's younger brother.

River Plate own the foward, having loaned him out for the2006 Apertura and 2007 Clausura seasons. Spanish side Real Sociedad are reported to have already made an offer and are awaiting word from Nueva Chicago as to whether they are willing to rescind their loan agreement with River. As of yet, financial numbers haven't been disclosed.

At only 22, he's already idolized in Mataderos. He propelled his current club to a respectable fourteenth place (out of twenty) in the just-completed Apertura championship. He finished the season tied for third on the scoring chart with 8 goals, two more than his famous brother. Not bad for playing at a newly-promoted club.

The second move being negotiated at the moment involves Boca Juniors midfielder Fernando Gago. The transfer has been yo-yoing back and forth as to whether it would happen now, in time for the January transfer window, or next summer.

Predrag Mijatovic, Real Madrid's sporting director, was quoted today as saying that the club was willing to pay a fair price but no more than that. "Boca's president is coming here tomorrow for talks concerning Gago's transfer." He continued, "We will maintain our position, we'd like to sign him but aren't willing to just turnover a blank check. We'll negotiate, then we'll see what happens after that."

The transfer fee should fall somewhere between $19M and $30M. Look for this soap opera to be resolved by the end of the weekend.

The best young forward in the world [Real Madrid official site]
Federico Higuain awaits the news [Ole]
We want Gago, but not at any price (In Spanish) [AS]

-ac