Leverkusen agree deal for striker Lucas Alario

Bayer Leverkusen have triggered Lucas Alario’s release clause and expect to complete the signing of the River Plate striker “in the coming days”.

Capped three times by Argentina, Alario will join Greek defender Panagiotis Retsos at the BayArena pending confirmation from the Argentine Football Association.

Leverkusen identified the prolific 24-year-old as Javier Hernandez’s successor and have now met his reported €18million release fee.

Paris Saint-Germain and Lyon have previously been linked with Alario, who scored his first international goal in a 6-0 friendly win over Singapore in June.

TRANSFER NEWS: Lucas Alario expected to join #Bayer04 from River Plate. The transfer not yet 100% finalized, but will be in the coming days pic.twitter.com/lz2IeyuvXZ

— Bayer 04 Leverkusen (@bayer04_en) August 31, 2017

“The transfer is not yet 100 per cent finalised, but will be in the coming days,” Leverkusen confirmed on Twitter.

“The striker’s release clause has been met and once he is officially released by the Argentine Football Association, we can expect him in Leverkusen.”

Alario scored 12 goals as River Plate finished second in the Argentine Primera Division last season, but was overlooked by Jorge Sampaoli for Argentina’s World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay and Venezuela.

Along with the arrival of Retsos and Alario, Leverkusen’s busy deadline-day business has seen midfielder Kevin Kampl move to Bundesliga rivals RB Leipzig.