OFFICIALLY OFFICIAL: Torino sign Juventus midfielder Tomas Rincon on a loan with option to buy

He was here for a good time, not a long time. In his short stay with Juventus, Tomas Rincon won his first two major trophies of his career. At the age of 29, I’m sure he’s very happy about that, considering repeating that success elsewhere is not exactly a guarantee. The Serie A and Coppa Italia winner will be moving all the way to Turin, to join up with cross-town rivals, Torino.

More details, courtesy of Juventus’ official website:

Turin, August 11, 2017 - Juventus Football Club SpA announces that it has reached an agreement with Torino Football Club SpA for the temporary cessation, until 30 June 2018, of the right to sporting activities of footballer Rincon Hernandez Tomas Eduardo A fee of € 3 million.

The contract also provides for the obligation of Torino Football Club SpA to transform the temporary transfer definitively if the footballer disputes a certain number of official matches by 30 June 2018. The consideration for the final assignment has been set at 6 million.

Rincon was a low-cost, low-risk move that didn’t really pan out, and it wasn’t really all his fault. January signings are rarely long-term moves, and this one was no different. When he was initially brought in during the January transfer window, it seemed as though he would be a much welcomed reinforcement to bolster our 3-man midfield depth, and could add some grit and defensive prowess to the midfielder, something that was previously lacking. Then the formation changed, and Rincon didn’t exactly set the world on fire in his limited appearances to warrant a high enough place in the depth chart to remain relevant.

All in all, he only played 579 minutes for the club, although spread out into 19 different appearances. Around half of these minutes came in the Coppa Italia, so we can say he was a decent part in bringing home that trophy in the later stages. A potential 9 million is around what he would be expected to haul in, another decent offload job by Beppe.

At Torino, it’s likely that Rincon will be tasked with replacing Marco Benassi, who moved to Fiorentina. At a quick glance, he’ll likely be the midfielder playing behind Daniele Baselli and Afriyie Acquah. Torino finished 9th in Serie A last year. Best of luck in the foreign land of Turin, Rincon, see you at the derby.