American defender Ventura Alvarado is headed to Necaxa from Santos Laguna just a year after joining the Torreon side.
After finishing 13th in the latest campaign, Santos has been quick to make moves. Shortly after the regular season ended, Santos sent young midfielder Gael Sandoval to Chivas and got Jose Juan "Galltio" Vazquez in return and now is moving Alvarado to Necaxa with Rayos winger Jesus Isijara headed in the other direction.
"Club Santos Laguna and Club Necaxa have agreed to the permanent transfer of defender Ventura Alvarado," a club news release read. "The club is grateful for the dedication and commitment shown by Ventura during his time with us, and we wish him the very best in this next stage of his professional career."
Alvarado is a U.S. international who moved from Phoenix to Mexico City as a teenager to play youth soccer and eventually made it to Club America's first team. He mad his first-team league debut in February 2013. After playing regularly in the 2015 Clausura, Alvarado fell out of favor and signed with Santos at the start of 2017. But he started just five league matches over the two tournaments, failing to win a spot and now is on the move again.
During that 2015 season, Alvarado also became a regular in Jurgen Klinsmann's United States national team, earning 13 caps and starting all four matches of the 2015 Gold Cup. His last appearance for the Stars and Stripes is the October 2015 friendly against Costa Rica.
Thank you, @Ventuzzz for defending our colors. 👊🇳🇬
— ClubSantosLaguna (@ClubSantosEn) November 28, 2017
We wish you the best in this new stage of your professional career with @ClubNecaxa⚡️ pic.twitter.com/kgBCr7gMps
Alvarado will look forward to being back at Necaxa, where he spent a year on loan from America. Los Rayos had not secured promotion and were still in the Ascenso, but Alvarez was a regular starter for a team that finished second in the Apertura and third in the Clausura. The 25-year-old has played at center back and right back during his career.
¡Le damos la bienvenida a @Ventuzzz, quien se suma al Club, para enfrentar el torneo #CL2018! 💪 ¡Venga Ventura, a darlo todo por los #RayosDeCorazón! ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/0pBY5BOMhu
— Club Necaxa ⚡ (@ClubNecaxa) November 28, 2017
Isijara may help to boost a Santos attack that was able to generate chances this season but found the back of the net only 20 times. The 28-year-old winger was named to Mexico's preliminary Gold Cup squad and scored twice during the Apertura.
