Official: Santiago Arias joins Leverkusen on loan with obligatory purchase clause
Bayer 04 Leverkusen officially introduced their new fullback to the public today. Details of the deal turned out to match the various disclosures assembled in an earlier report.
| Santiago Arias. | Photo: Анна Нэсси, Soccer.ru, CC BY-SA 3.0 |
"With Santiago Arias, we have obtained a very experienced player who may assist us rapidly. He shall prove very important to the statistics of our team," Völler said, indirectly referring to the need for squad depth ahead of this year's compressed schedule.
Rolfes hailed Atletico's Arias as "a player who has proven himself at a top European club." Rolfes went on to elaborate on Arias' time at PSV Eindhoven to reference the skills the new transfer displayed at a club where he received more playing time. Arias' "confidence in the build up" and "power on crosses" were praised.
As reported earlier, the fiscal package that brings Leverkusen their new addition is complicated. Arias technically joins Bayer on loan, yet there exist both a loan fee and obligatory purchase clause in the contract. German footballing magazine Kicker estimates that, taken together, Arias should cost Völler & Co about €12 million.
The loan is officially set to expire on June 30th 2021. Kicker nevertheless reports that the mandatory purchase clause will be triggered after ten starts. Arias appears to be in the Bundesliga for the long haul.