Luis Leal, who has been top scorer for Newell’s Old Boys for the past three seasons, has left Argentina and returned to Mexico to sign for Xolos de Tijuana.
The striker, who signed for La Lepra in 2017, was keen to move on and had 9 months left on his contract. The deal is reported to be worth $350,000 to Newell’s.
The signing of Ignacio Scocco meant that Leal would have probably played second fiddle to Scocco for the upcoming season but manager Frank Kudelka will still be looking to replace him with young attackers Enzo Cabrera and Tobias Donsanti lacking experience in the number 9 role that Leal formerly occupied.
The São Toméan scored 18 goals in 64 games for Newell’s and will be best remembered for scoring a brace in the Copa Sudamericana against Athletico Paranaense in 2018 and this strike against River Plate in December 2019:
In a statement released by the club on Saturday, Newell’s said that he had refused the offer of a one-year contract extension and instead preferred to accept an offer to play for Club Tijuana in Mexico. Leal has experience playing in Mexico already with Chiapas, who Newell’s signed him from in 2017.
Best of luck to La Pantera, and thanks for everything!
