If Athletic manage to get promotion this time around Argentinian Cristian Colusso may make his loan move to Oldham permanent. He is rated at £2 million and has represented Argentina at under-20 and under-23 level but his sights are set higher than the Second Division. There is also the problem of the transfer fee. If Colusso’s club, Rosario Central, hold out for a three million-dollar fee, would Athletic chairman Chris Moore be prepared to splash out if Athletic remained in the Second Division even if Colusso wanted to stay at Boundary Park?
Promotion would give the club’s finances a boost and they would be in a better position to justify such an outlay. Mr. Moore has long maintained the importance of Athletic getting back into the First Division as soon as possible and it is a measure of the club’s ambition that they have recruited a player of such a high calibre who can operate anywhere on the left side.
The loan move comes after eight years with Rosario Central, a club the player describes as one of the top six or seven in Argentina. Colusso spent five months with Spanish side Seville in 1998, playing 14 games for them where he also obtained a European passport.
Cristian said, “I would like to play football here in the First Division or Premier League. The English game is screened comprehensively in my home land, especially Manchester United’s Premiership matches because of the presence of Juan Sebastian Veron at Old Trafford. I nominate Diego Maradona as my hero although I only admire his on-the-field exploits.”