Alan Lescano heads to Vasco da Gama for $9 million after one last goal for Argentinos

A goal to remember him by and a flight to Rio de Janeiro to seal the deal. That's how the Alan Lescano chapter closed at Argentinos Juniors, the club that developed him as a player and is now letting him go to Vasco da Gama for a fee in the neighborhood of $9 million.

The agreement between the two clubs was finalized last week, right around the time Pipa scored a brilliant goal in the Bicho's win over Aldosivi in the Torneo Clausura, a match that ended up being his last at La Paternal. The deal is structured as $7.5 million as a fixed fee plus $1.5 million in bonuses tied to the player's performance in Brazil.

For all of this to happen, Argentinos first had to settle an outstanding matter: the club paid Gimnasia $2 million to acquire the remaining 50% of the midfielder's rights, giving Argentinos full control of the transfer. Only then did a negotiation that, as the player himself admitted, had been in the works for a while, finally get unblocked.

Medical exam against the clock

Lescano, 24, who came up through Gimnasia's youth ranks, flew to Rio de Janeiro on Friday morning for his medical exam, hoping to arrive in time to be registered before Saturday's Brasileirao match against Fluminense. Vasco da Gama is fighting to stay up in the Brazilian league, but the club is still alive in the Copa do Brasil and remains in the running in the CONMEBOL Sudamericana, where it will face Independiente Santa Fe, the team that knocked out River, in the quarterfinals, with a possible semifinal against Boca looming on the horizon.

"I'm happy. There are still a few things left, and now I'm traveling to try to close them out and get through the medical exam. Hopefully everything goes well," Lescano said. He leaves Argentinos with a record of 123 appearances, 26 goals and 9 assists.

The Bolivar native didn't hide what this step means for his career: "It feels really good. Obviously it was an important step for me and for my future. I'll take with me the best memories of Argentinos. Now I just have to wait for everything to go well and keep pushing forward."

I'm left with beautiful memories. It's a huge, wonderful club. But also with the regret of not being able to win a title, which was the goal we all wanted.Alan Lescano

At Vasco, he'll reunite with fellow Argentines: he'll share a locker room with Facundo Colidio and Santiago Sosa, both recently signed, as well as Claudio Paul Spinelli. Speaking about his new destination, the midfielder called it "a big club" and admitted he arrives with "a lot of excitement," having already spoken with his compatriots so he can join the group as soon as possible and "try to meet the club's goals."

Last week, when the outcome wasn't fully confirmed yet, Lescano grew emotional talking about his departure from a club where he'd "been very happy." He also took the chance to settle an old score, recalling when his name was heavily linked to Boca: "I know there were a lot of conversations, and the 50% issue with Gimnasia was also a roadblock that kept me from leaving. Once that got resolved, a lot of things opened up. And today, luckily, this was able to happen."