River, Boca battle for Valencia defender

Superdeporte is reporting that Argentine giants River Plate and Boca Juniors are locked in the battle for Valencia full-back Lucas Orban.

The 26-year-old has found it hard to nail down a regular starting berth at Mestalla and he is heavily linked with a January exit.

Superdeporte claims that Boca Juniors were the first side to show interest in the former Bordeaux left-back, but his former club River Plate have since joined the race as well.

Orban’s agent, Marcelo Lombilla, even went to tell La Pagina Millonaria that River Plate coach Marcelo Gallardo had called his client to try and persuade him to return to Monumental.

It was at River Plate that Orban had begun his professional career, but he only managed 10 league appearances before moving to Tigre.

The talented footballer went on to make a name for himself at Bordeaux, where he made 27 Ligue 1 appearances ahead of joining Valencia in the summer of 2014.