Peruzzi Gives An Update On His Future

There has been a lot of confusion surrounding Gino Peruzzi in the last 48 hours or so, with articles ranging from saying he'd outright rejected us, to speculation that his agent had held up the deal by asking for commission.

Peruzzi's agent, Marcollese Nazarene, was quick to deny the accusation that he had endangered the transfer by asking for commission;

Ole published a claim that I wanted commission, something I categorically deny. We are starting legal action.

While Velez Sarsfield's vice-president, Julio Baldomar, appeared bewildered at the apparent breakdown of the transfer;

It's the first time that something like this has happened to us.

This has given us several problems. We got to an arrangement from club to club very fast. We arranged the amount of the transfer and everything was okay between Velez and Sunderland.

But, suddenly, the player and his agent have said that what has been offered as a contract to Peruzzi isn't enough.

This situation is something really weird. Usually, when a proposal arrives from Europe, the player is the first person interested in having the transfer done. And, even in this case, when an offer has arrived from English football, the player should be really interested.

But, if he says that what he would receive isn't enough, we can't do anything about that.

But it's weird because what the player will receive for the transfer is a lot of money as he will receive 15 per cent of what Sunderland pays to Velez.

We will see what happens in the next few hours because if Peruzzi finally doesn't get transferred that gives Velez lots of problems.

Velez need the money that this transfer will provide, not only to bring in new players (with Gago and Sunderland target Zarate mentioned) but also for the social side of the club. So a possible breakdown of the transfer or even any delay is complicating their plans.

Peruzzi himself has calmed those fears, speaking to local radio station 'Radio La Red', he said;

I was born and raised here (at Velez) and I want the best for this club.

Which should ease fears that the transfer won't happen, as the best thing as far as Velez are concerned, is for this transfer to go through. Peruzzi also spoke about his contract offer from Sunderland, the claims of his agent complicating the deal and where it stands at the moment;

I wasn't convinced about the financial proposal of Sunderland but my agent never asked for a commission for the transfer.

I cannot just think about the economic proposals, I also have to think about football. I need to go to a club where I will be playing because of the upcoming World Cup.

My intention is to continue negotiating my contract with Sunderland, if they improve their offer I will not rule it out.

Velez's manager, Ricardo Gareca, also spoke about the transfer and hinted that it was back on track;

The board told me that they have recovered the transfer of Peruzzi but I've not spoken to him yet, so we will see in the coming hours.

A reporter for Argentine daily newspaper Ole, Micaela Cannatro, also claims that there will be further discussions today and that we could be close to a breakthrough.

This afternoon they meet again for Gino Peruzzi. It seems that the parties are closer and could finalise his move to England.

So, with a bit of luck, this transfer may not drag on too much longer and we can get a highly rated young right back into our ranks and significantly strengthen our back four. 21-year-old Peruzzi, who returned to training with Velez today, is expected to cost in the region of £3.3m and has four caps for Argentina.