Independiente weighs selling Gabriel Ávalos as Olimpia comes calling

Independiente doesn't get a moment's peace. Still without a coach after the departure of Gustavo Quinteros, the Avellaneda club now also has to sort out a dilemma that could reshape its attack: the possible sale of Gabriel Ávalos.

The Paraguayan forward is back on Olimpia's radar, with the club reviving a negotiation that seemed to have gone cold. Olimpia's offer isn't purely cash: it includes the two outstanding installments owed for the transfer of Kevin Zabala plus an additional sum in money. Add it all up and the deal would be worth roughly $1.2 million.

Why does this matter to Independiente? Because Ávalos isn't just another player. Right now he's one of the clearest reference points in the attack, and his contract doesn't run out until December 2026. In other words, there's still plenty of time to keep him around. But there's also a financial angle the club's leadership can't ignore: if the sale goes through, Independiente locks in a significant sum instead of risking the deal running down to its final months without cashing in on the transfer.

A market with more open fronts than certainties

The Ávalos saga isn't happening in isolation. Independiente is in the middle of a transfer window where the need for reinforcements has been an ongoing storyline for a while now, something Quinteros himself kept pointing to during his tenure. That shortfall didn't vanish when he left. It's still there, waiting to be addressed.

While the front office sounds out candidates for the bench, with Jadson Viera's name starting to gain traction, it's also working in parallel to bring in a center back and a forward. Add the possible exit of Ávalos to that list, and the urgency to reinforce the attack stops being just another item on the to-do list and becomes priority number one.

There's also a particular wrinkle to this story: Ávalos knows Olimpia inside and out. He had a very good spell there before returning to Argentine soccer, and that history adds extra weight to Paraguay's interest. What looked like a long shot not long ago is now firmly back on the table.

Ultimately, Independiente has a fundamental call to make: sell now for a figure close to $1.2 million or hold on to its scorer until the contract runs out in 2026. Neither option is simple, and in the meantime the club keeps working on two fronts at once, the search for its next coach and the building of the squad it will need, with or without Ávalos leading the line.