Report: Santiago Arias to Leverkusen deal done, details to be announced today
There now stands little to no disagreement among German media sources that Athletico's Santiago Arias will play in Germany this season. Specifics of a comparatively complex deal should be revealed today.
| Santiago Arias. | Photo: Анна Нэсси, Soccer.ru, CC BY-SA 3.0 |
German footballing magazine Kicker reports that 28-year-old Athletico Madrid fullback Santiago Arias arrived in Leverkusen for his medical. A twitter post from the Bild Zeitung confirmed his presence. SkySports Germany reports that the Columbian international will suit up for die Werkself as part of a loan deal that includes an obligatory purchase option of between €10 and €13 million.
The deal is evidently rather complex, with the purchase option being triggered after a certain number of appearances. Sky places this number at ten. Kicker confirms that this number is likely accurate.
Arias' transfer was considered a done deal as early as Tuesday. His arrival will likely signal the departure of Mitchell Weiser, who has fallen out of favor with head coach Peter Bosz. Its unclear as of yet whether Arias will be placed above Lars Bender on the depth chart.
It should be noted that the right-footed Arias does not constitute the left-footed central defender that Bosz has specifically stated he wished to acquire. After the center-back pairing of Edmond Tapsoba and Sven Bender performed so well in the weekend's 0-0 draw with VfL Wolfsburg, it may be the case that Bosz may no longer aggressively pursue this need.