Despite being described as ‘one step away’ from signing for Nantes by Estadio Deportivo on Wednesday, Gaston Ramirez still has some way to go before getting his move away from Riverside.
Told by his agent that it was all Middlesbrough’s fault that the deal to take him to Real Betis fell through, the Uruguayan playmaker is now expected to team up with Claudio Ranieri in France.
However, before that happens, Les Canaris, and more precisely their chairman Waldemar Kita, need to find an agreement with the Championship side, which is proving relatively difficult.
Speaking to Presse Océan on Wednesday, the club official said: “It’s very complicated. They want a lot of money for a club that’s just gone down. It’s not going to be easy.”
Of course, that doesn’t mean the task is impossible, as Kita will be desperate to please his new star manager with a few signings, yet Middlesbrough have proven difficult to negotiate with this summer.
Atalanta have felt the brunt of it in their attempts to sign Marten de Roon, and it appears Nantes are now the ones struggling, with Boro said to be asking for €14m.
That seems a lot for a player who arrived on a free last summer and didn’t exactly set the Premier League alight during his time at the Riverside.
