Who could América sign while Henry Martín is out?
With Henry Martín possibly facing a month on the sidelines, América have a list of candidates that they could turn to.
América have made it to the Round of 16 in the Leagues Cup where they aim to be among the favorites to lift the trophy. However, not everything has gone to plan - during the warm-up prior to the match against the Chicago Fire, they lost key striker Henry Martín to injury.
According to the medical reports issued during the last few hours, the Aztec attacker suffered a tear to his right calf muscle and has left the United States to begin his recovery back in Mexico. It is estimated that he could be out of action for anywhere between three weeks to six weeks.
That is a major problem for the Águilas as Martín is their only out-and-out centre-forward - Julián Quiñones usually plays more on the wings or as a second striker. The board has chosen to resume its interest in certain players with qualities similar to those of the Yucatecan Bomb, and restarted the search for the striker who could manage to cover the position until Henry is fit to return to the field of play.
Darío Benedetto
After contemplating the possibility of having both Martín and Jonathan ‘Cabecita’ Rodríguez out of action, the board began to look into hiring Darío Benedetto, a 33-year-old Argentine striker, who curiously spent 18 months on the books at the Coapa club (January 2015 to July 2016). With a track record in European Football, both at Olympique Marseille and at Elche, he could be the ideal place to fill the gap until Martín returns.
Maxi Gómez
Another player on América’s radar is 26-year-old Uruguayan Maxi Gómez, who currently plays for Turkish Super League club Trabzonspor. He has been on América’s wants list in the past, but after Quiñones’ arrival, the club lost interest. According to various sources, the young South American is valued between $6-7 million.
Alejandro Dario Gómez
More commonly known as ‘Papu’ Gómez, he was strongly tipped to reinforce the Águilas’ attack a couple of months ago, but for financial reasons, a deal never came to fruition. Despite being a complicated option due to price and salary (he is valued at €3 million), Sevilla’s current financial problems could help América to acquire him for a more affordable amount.
Teun Walke
The 21-year-old from Querétaro is the option that, for now, looks the most feasible. Hailing from Cercle Burgge (Belgium), he is a player whose projection for the future seems to be more in keeping with the Azulcrema’s project.