The popular player amongst virtual footy managers is a 22-year-old centre-half with over 50 games under his belt at River Plate, and has even courted the interest of Barcelona.
The Colombian is described as the best player in the Argentinian leagues and the “perfect” central defender; he would also be a useful option at left back should Jordan Amavi pick up an injury.
However, Los Millonarios vice president Omar Solissi has praised his defender, and says it will take a big offer for him to sell the talented youngster: “Balanta is worth €15 million; he is a great player with a great future. I think that Balanta would be liked by Tata Martino, as it would not seem odd to me if Barca are interested in him. He is a player that will come good whichever team he plays for. Balanta is not like Mascherano nor like Pique; he is a different sort of player with more presence. He is a strong defender, is good on the ball and knows how to play going forward.”
Balanta participated in both last years world cup and this year’s Copa America before leading River Plate to its third Copa Libertadores title in a 3-0 win against Mexican outfit Tigres UANL.
Should Villa be keen on signing him they will face a lot of competition, with Manchester United, Sampdoria, Everton, Santos and Barcelona all keen on signing the wonder-kid
