*Featured photo courtesy of Dimayor*
It looks like Red Bull fans won't have to wait much longer as they are set to sign 19-year-old right back Juan José Mina from Deportivo Cali in the Colombian Primera A. The reported fee for Mina, the brother of Colombian national team center back Yerry Mina, is set to "not exceed a million dollars" according to Cali reporter Carlos Arturo Arango.
The news of the deal entering the final stages was reported first by Andres Munoz, then later confirmed by the Athletic's Tom Bogert. This signing of Mina is good business for Jochen Schneider and manager Troy Lesesene, who have been really quiet this summer.
The final deal for Red Bull will be for 85% of Juan José Mina's rights once again according to Arango, meaning Cali will own a 15% future sell-on fee for the financially troubled Colombian side, who currently sits in third place early in the Primera season.
Photo courtesy of Juan José Mina IG
Mina's rumored arrival to New York was initially reported back in late June by a few different outlets, the first being Felipe Espinal, who also resides in Cali, Colombia. But as the weeks passed it was reported that Red Bull submitted a $1.5M bid to Cali that the club rejected according to Andres Munoz of Deporte En Comun.
Mina, who just turned 19 on the 27th of July, has been capped 10 times by the Colombian U20 team. Since being promoted to the Cali first team last season, Mina has made 26 total appearances for "Los Verdiblancos", collecting two assists including this one against Pereira two weeks ago to make it 2-0 to Cali.
https://twitter.com/JosePerez1205/status/1681134325872439296?s=20
The arrival of Mina at Red Bull will certainly give some stability to a position that has been "lackluster" at best since the departure of Kyle Duncan, who left the club at the beginning of 2022, before returning last summer.
The right-back position is a hole that Red Bull needed to fill with Duncan heading back to Belgium in December, Cameron Harper who has been moved from winger to full-back out of necessity, and Dylan Nealis being very inconsistent & plagued by injuries during his tenure.
Mina brings real pace to the right-back position, something that Red Bull lacks all over the field. The Colombian is also very technical and has some winger traits in his game from the back end.
The only thing lacking in Mina's game is on defense and that's a big thing a Red Bull wing-back needs. Manager Troy Lesesne and the rest of the first-team staff will have to work with the young defender to mold him into a complete right-back.
A big positive for Mina is that he will have countryman Andres Reyes, who is closing on a contract extension himself, right next to him on the pitch. Reyes has been a rock for Red Bull in the center of defense and will look to mentor his compatriot once he arrives in MLS.
We should expect Mina to arrive for his medical in New York very shortly, with the official announcement from the club coming either Monday or Tuesday before the deadline passes.
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