Not done yet: RSL eyes latest mid-summer transfer from Colombia
Real Salt Lake is quietly building its own Colombian national team, with the latest target a U-22 initiative signing, Nelson Palacio from Atletico Nacional, per multiple reports.
The July 5 transfer window still hasn’t opened, but Real Salt Lake isn’t doing making moves, either.
Barely a week after announcing the largest signing in club history in No. 9 striker Chicho Arango, RSL is again tapping into its newfound Colombian pipeline by finalizing the acquisition of center midfielder Nelson Palacio from Atletico Nacional.
The deal, which has not been completed, was first reported by WinSports’ Pipe Sierra in Colombia and confirmed by Tom Bogert of The Athletic.
The 22-year-old midfielder with one cap with the Colombian senior national team would sign on a U-22 initiative contract, the same mechanism used to bring Andrés Gómez to RSL from Millonarios on a then-club record $3 million transfer fee.
Palacio is reportedly joining on a fee around $2 million, according to Bogert. He’ll travel to Salt Lake City on Monday as the two sides try to complete the deal.
Palacio would be the fourth signing from Colombia this season, joining Arango, Gómez, and versatile left back Brayan Vera, the San Luis product who signed under TAM designation in February on a three-year deal from América De Calí with options to extend as far as 2027.
Vera has already made 13 starts playing both left back and left-center back for Pablo Mastroeni’s side, becoming a vital partner with 200-capped homegrown Justen Glad while Marcelo Silva has struggled with a knock in 2023.
So what kind of player is Palacio?
A defensive midfielder by trade, Palacio has an ability flip the field with long balls and whipping crosses to launch a counter attack — a useful trait when paired with the likes of Gómez and Jefferson Savarino in Mastroeni’s direct attack.
The native of Apartadó, Colombia has been in the Nacional system since he was 6 years old and signed a youth contract in 2007 before being elevated to the senior team in 2020. In his time with Atletico Nacional, Palacio most recently had a goal and an assist in 19 matches in 2023 while helping back up its Copa Colombia in 2021 with the 2022 Apertura championship, and the Superliga Colombiana title that pits the winners of the Apertura and Finalizacion tournaments against each other.
Real Salt Lake would be the first extended trip outside of his home country in Palacio’s young career.
Palacio scored two goals in 67 appearances with Nacional, making his senior debut with Los Cafeteros in March 2023 in an international friendly with South Korea, appearing as a late substitute in a 2-2 draw.
After starring on the U-20 level with his home country, Palacio was incredibly grateful of the chance to represent his homeland at the senior level.
“It’s a huge blessing for me,” Palacio said of the call-up to represent his country. “It was something I’d never imagined. It took me by surprise, but I think that because I’ve been working hard, I’m starting to see some of the fruits of my labor.
“Nacional has raised me and formed me, and even bigger things are ahead because of it, to give 100% in every match. Nacional has all of the resources to give everything, and this is also because of Nacional.”