Palmeiras wants Taty Castellanos; offers $12.5M to NYCFC for him

Taty Castellano’s future is still on hold, as NYCFC has yet to accept an offer for the Argentinean. But now a new bidder is pushing hard to acquire his services. Brazilian Palmeiras made an offer of $12.5 million for Castellanos.

Reports says that New York City FC rejected that first offer, as they valued the player over $15 million, but the Brazilian side is still on the hunt for a striker and it seems as if they’ve set their minds to get Castellanos no matter what.

Castellanos scored 22 goals for NYFCF over 35 games on 2021, including the opening goal for the team in the 2021 MLS Final. Eventually, Portland Timbers ended up tying and the game ended 1-1, and even on overtime the scored didn’t change. Castellanos was able to score again, this time a penalty kick which eventually helped the Citizens obtain its first MLS Championship.

Not long after the game, rumors started to buzz around Castellano’s future, and at this point it seems complicated he’ll be back to New York for the 2022 season, even if he’s under contract until 2025.

A couple weeks ago, everything pointed for his departure to the Premier League, specifically to join West Ham United, but nothing else transpired.

Now, South American teams are taking interest in the striker, who’s previously said that he would like to play in Argentina, but his mind is set to move to Europe in the near future.

"Obviously, it's a desire I have, because I've never played in Argentina, but I don't think the time is right now. I want to aim for European football."

He even mentioned that he already has some offers from Europe, but he still is pondering where he wants to take his career to. “It's reality, it's my dream, I always wanted to play there. That's my focus. Today I have many offers from Europe.”

It’s the second time Palmeiras tries to acquire him

Palmeiras has been trying to sign Valentin Castellanos since May. Earlier this year the Brazilian team made their first bid for the Argentinean striker, offering $4 million for 70% of his rights.

The Citizens were leaning on accepting the offer, but eventually decided to back out of the deal, as they announced the renovation of Castellanos until 2025.

But for the winter transfer window, things might start complicating for the Brazilian side, as Taty gathers interest of different clubs. Now it’s said that River Plate and Corinthians are also joining Palmeiras in the race to acquire his services.

Outstanding season for Castellanos and NYCFC

The 2021 MLS Golden Boot winner had a prolific season with the Blues, not only because they were successful on the run for the MLS Championship, but also because he was able to score 22 goals over 35 games and assist eight times, meaning he was involved in 50% of the goals the Citizens scored in 2021.

Even Pep Guardiola praised the young striker, saying he’ll be playing in Europe soon enough, as he’s a gifted player.

Born in Mendoza, Argentina, Castellanos first arrived to the MLS in 2018 on a six-month loan from Montevideo City Torque to NYCFC, both teams are part of City Football Group. He then joined NYCFC’ side for good for the 2019 season, where he’s become a rising star.