"The best reinforcement is that no one has left". The phrase, repeated in the Nuevo Gasómetro over the past few days by leaders and players, can no longer be pronounced in Boedo: yesterday, at the close of this edition, the sale of Ezequiel Cerutti to Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia, in exchange for 7 million dollars (San Lorenzo has 90 percent of the contract), was being finalized. It is clear, then: for Claudio Biaggio it is time to turn the page. And with just hours before facing Talleres de Córdoba -tomorrow night, for the resumption of the Superliga-, Pampa already knows who will replace Pocho: Rubén Botta.

With no new faces throughout the transfer market, the coach had to look inward for the player who will accompany Nicolás Blandi in San Lorenzo's attack. It is true: as soon as the offer from the Arab club reached the offices of Boedo, Matías Lammens and company set out to find another player with the characteristics of Cerutti. The chosen one: Valentín Viola (26 years old), who played last season for Independiente Medellín, from Colombia, although his transfer belongs to Apollon Limassol from Cyprus. Negotiations to obtain a loan with an option to buy are underway, but a serious personal problem of Miguel Mastrosimone -secretary of the blue and red club- postponed the final decision for today. Remember: tonight, at 8pm, the transfer market closes, so Argentine teams will have until that time to register reinforcements coming from other clubs. In the case of free players and "cablegráfricas" registrations, the deadline will be extended for one more week, until February 1st.

With so little time for the match against Talleres, Biaggio did not hesitate and chose Botta for the attack. His decision is supported by what he observed in the last weeks of training: throughout the preseason, the former Tigre player was one of the best performing footballers in the squad, to such an extent that he received praise from the entire coaching staff. In addition, in the preparation friendlies, Pampa began to use him not as an external midfielder (as he played under Diego Aguirre), but as a second striker, a position he will play in Córdoba. This would be, in principle, the only modification that the coach will make in relation to the eleven players who finished playing in the last matches of last year, since both Nicolás Navarro (muscle discomfort) and Paulo Díaz (overload in the right hamstrings) have recovered from their respective injuries and are available for the coach. What will San Lorenzo's team be like in Córdoba? Navarro; Díaz, Gonzalo Rodríguez, Matías Caruzzo, Gabriel Rojas; Gabriel Gudiño, Juan Mercier, Facundo Quignón; Fernando Belluschi; Botta and Blandi.

In addition to Cerutti's departure, there could be another departure in the blue and red squad in the next few hours: Marcos Angeleri's. Wanted by Colo Colo (Chile), the defender would terminate his contract with San Lorenzo to continue his career in the Cacique.