River Plate have completed the loan signing of Colón de Santa Fe defender Omar Merlo on a one-year deal.

River announced the deal last night after a successful meeting between Merlo's representative Leo Rodríguez and River negotiator Mario Israel.

The twenty-one year old defender will join on a one-year loan deal from the group of investors headed by Fernando Hidalgo that purchased him from Colón de Santa Fe for $1.25 million in December.

Merlo has made twenty-two appearances for Colón since making his debut in February of last year and admitted that he was "a little surprised" when he heard of River's interest.

With the deal now complete, he is looking forward to playing for such a prestigous club.

"I have much desire and I am very excited. They are a massive club that everybody wants to play for," he told Olé.

River's initial intention had been to register Merlo solely for the Copa Libertadores in the hope of paying a lesser fee to his owners, but this suggestion was flatly refused by the investors and nearly led to the deal breaking down.

Frustrated by their failure to secure Sebastián Leto on loan from Liverpool, River eventually gave in and paid the asking price to count on Merlo's services in the Argentine league as well as in the Libertadores.

He has become the fourth signing made by the club since Diego Simeone took over as coach in December and will join up with his new team-mates as they prepare for their Clausura opener against Gimanasia de Jujuy on Sunday.