Club Tijuana is continuing to reinforce its squad this summer as it looks to return to the top of Liga MX.
Argentina-born Paraguay international forward Juan Manuel Iturbe is joining the team from Roma, the Serie A side announced Monday.
The deal will initially be a loan through June 2018 but Tijuana will be required to buy the player if he hits certain performance-based targets, according to Roma's news release.
Italian media last week reported Tijuana would sign Iturbe on a permanent move with a 5 million euro fee.
.@Juan_iturbe93 joins @xolos_en. Argentine striker comes from @TorinoFC_1906 . #WelcomeToTijuana #GoXolos #WeAreSoccer pic.twitter.com/sYSaFaH6KP
— @Xolos_En (@xolos_en) August 21, 2017
Since a strong 2013-14 campaign with Hellas Verona that earned him a long-term deal there and eventually a move to Roma, Iturbe has bounced around but failed to make his mark. He played just two games during a 2016 stint with Bournemouth and Tornio declined to pick up his option after he scored once in 11 games with the Serie A side.
The Liga MX side hopes Argentine coach Eduardo Coudet will help the 24-year-old find his form once again. Tijuana was linked with Iturbe earlier in the transfer window but chatter around the deal died down as the summer wore on.
Tijuana got off to a poor start, though, and moved to make more improvements to their side. Xolos got the first league win of the Coudet era Friday with a 2-0 win over Santos Laguna.
Tijuana also signed former Racing forward Gustavo Bou this window but allowed attacking midfielder Aviles Hurtado, central midfielder Guido Rodriguez and winger Paul Arriola to leave during the summer, as well as seeing manager Miguel Herrera join Club America.
