Bremen introduce Malatini: "A dream to play in Europe."
SV Werder Bremen officially unveiled Argentine center back Julian Malatini as a new signing on Tuesday evening.
Argentine youth international Julian Palatine's transfer to SV Werder Bremen is through. The 22-year-old moves to the Hanseatic City State club for an undisclosed transfer fee. The duration of the youngster's contract were also not revealed. Bremen announced that former Bremen Paraguayan international Nelson Valdez - on staff with the Bremen reserve coaching staff - will be join the senior team to assist with Malatini's integration.
Valdez's move to Ole Werner's staff suggests that the Hanseaten wish to utilize Malatini in the Bundesliga rather soon. Werner has had some difficulties rounding out his back-three this season due to injuries suffered by Niklas Stark, Marco Friedl, and Milos Veljkovic. Amos Pieper remains out long-term after undergoing ankle surgery in November.
"Julian is a promising prospect whom we've been monitoring for a long time," SV licensing director Clemens Fritz remarked in a statement accompanying the news, "This is his first time in Europe.Nelson once took Julián's path himself and can therefore pass on his experience to him. He should be a point of contact for him on and off the pitch to make it easier for him to arrive in Bremen and integrate into the team."
Malatini's departure from the Argentine Olympic squad during an Olympic pre-qualifying tournament in Venezuela in order to finalize his Bremen move wasn't without controversy. Argentina U20 head-coach Javier Mascherano expressed some ire that he and his staff were not given proper notice that the player was negotiating with a European club.
Malatini responded to this in his first club statement.
"It is the dream of every footballer in South America to be able to play in Europe," Malatini said, "After hearing about Werder's interest, I immediately realized that I wanted to seize this opportunity. The Bundesliga is one of the biggest leagues in the world. I can hardly wait to get on the pitch for the first time."