The once capped Argentinian will join the club on a Bosman Free transfer after spending much of last season on loan at River Plate from Real Betis. However following the Argentinian Giants relegation this past season the player who bought out his contractual rights from Betis in March 2011 for a fee of around 400,000 Euros has once again become a free agent.
Pavone, 29, arrived in Spain in 2007 from Estudiantes with a great goal-scoring reputation, but failed to shine and was put up for sale at the start of 2010. The player is now looking to rebuild his career in England and held talks with the club on Tuesday accompanied by his agent Ohne Berater and his family, The player also underwent a medical and the formalities of this transfer are expected to be completed today.
So who is Mariano Pavone?
* Pavone is a two footed striker who has 76 goals in 270 appearances which equates to a goal every 3.5 matches.
* He has 1 International cap which was in April 2007 against Chile
* He spent 7 years at Estudiantes finishing the top scorer in the Argentine league in 2005 with 16 goals
*He moved to Real Betis for €6.8 million in July 2007 and suffered relegation with them at the end of the 2008-2009 season
* A move to Catania in Italy fell through in February 2010 and the player eventually joined River plate on loan for the 2010-2011 season.
* Pavone would suffer his second career relegation as River plate where relegated at the end of the 2010-2011 season, Pavone misses a penalty in their final match.
I'm sure there will be mixed opinion on the imminent capture of Pavone and message boards up and down the country are already doing overtime. Some fans very disgruntled whilst others open minded. This is a shrewd move by Blackburn in my Opinion, The player is not a journey man and has only two full time clubs and a loan on his CV. Although things didn't work out for him Spain, he was at one of the more unfashionable clubs. Big players have gone to Betis in years gone by and failed due to the lack of quality within the squad. One player who springs to mind is Denilson , Real Betis broke the world record transfer fee when they paid Sao Paulo £21.5 million for his services following an impressive Copa America in 1997. Denilson was regarded in some quarters as one of the best players in the world however his time at Betis was not memorable with the player only showing glimpses of his brilliance before Real Betis were relegated.
The Pavone situation is very similar to that of Denilson's and despite River Plates relegation Pavone was one of their shining lights in what was a poor season for the club. Blackburn are not getting a player who has not featured for a season but a player who made 32 appearances whilst scoring 9 goals.
We also have to remember that Bosman signings are not free, So this is not a penny pinching exercise by the board, With all Bosman signings comes a large signing on fee, and as the player owns his own rights Rovers will still be paying a nice chuck to secure the player.
Other positives can be taken from this move, We already have Mauro Formica at the club who has yet to feature for the first team, and having a fellow countryman in the squad can only have a positive reaction on his development.
Pavone Will join fellow new recruits Myles Anderson and young Paraguayan Rodrigo Baez
Blackburn are also expected to hold talks with other players today as they look to tie up a few more in comings before the weekend whilst youngster Tom Hitchcock is due to join Plymouth Argyle on loan
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