Argentine attacking midfielder Emanuel Reynoso arrived in Minneapolis on Saturday evening, toured Allianz Field on Sunday and will be introduced as Minnesota United's new designated player later this week.
Reynoso will undergo a physical examination before the team officially announces his acquisition. He is expected to sign a contract that, with a team option year, could keep him with the Loons until 2024.
The Loons have pursued Reynoso since at least January and nearly signed him in late February. They have now have reached agreement with his Boca Juniors team on a Loons-record transfer believed to be worth at least $5 million. The German soccer website Transfermarkt lists the fee at $5.5 million.
The complex negotiations involved two other lower-level clubs in Argentina that owned part of his rights, agents and the country's soccer federation as well. Loons technical director Mark Watson made multiple trips to Buenos Aires seeking a deal.
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Reynoso will be isolated 10 days because of coronavirus guidelines before he can join his new team for training.
Reynoso joins teammates Jan Gregus and Thomas Chacon as the Loons' third and final designated player. He's expected to be introduced by Thursday.
Boca Juniors tweeted a farewell and wished him well Friday evening. Reynoso, 24, arrived at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on Saturday evening, where he posed wearing a mask for a photograph with a Loons fan.
Minnesota United coach Adrian Heath said after the team's 2-1 home loss to Sporting Kansas City on Friday that Reynoso still had to sign a deal and that he'd be "incredibly disappointed" if that didn't happen.
"The kid wants to come," Heath said. "We want him. Everything has been agreed."
Reynoso is the second player obtained by the Loons in the MLS summer transfer market. Veteran French defender Bakaye Dibassy is in Minneapolis going through his quarantine period as well; his signing was announced three weeks ago.
