River Plate has reached a verbal agreement with Colo Colo to acquire 22-year-old winger Lucas Cepeda, according to multiple reports from Argentina and Chile. The Buenos Aires club submitted a formal bid this week after accelerating negotiations in recent days. Press in both countries say River’s opening offer was about US$4 million for 100 percent of Cepeda’s rights, while the Santiago side is seeking between US$5 million and US$7 million or a deal that leaves it with a minority stake for a future resale. Despite the gap, sources on both sides describe the transfer as close to completion. The move would give coach Marcelo Gallardo his second reinforcement of the mid-year window, following the US$8 million signing of striker Maximiliano Salas from Racing. River created the roster space for Cepeda by selling Paraguayan forward Adam Bareiro to Brazil’s Fortaleza for roughly US$3.2 million, freeing a foreign-player slot.