Marseille set to sign Argentina's Balerdi: reports

TimGroothuis

Marseille are set to sign Argentina international Leonardo Balerdi from Borussia Dortmund, according to media reports in France on Monday.

French media claim that defender Balerdi, 21, was in Marseille for a medical before signing a loan deal which gives the Ligue 1 club the option to buy for 15 million euros ($17.2 million).

Balerdi, who played seven times in the Bundesliga for Dortmund last season, is expected to join his new club in Bavaria on Tuesday evening or Wednesday.

He is Marseille's second recruit of the summer following the arrival of midfielder Pape Gueye, another promising 21-year-old, from Le Havre.

The expected signing of Balerdi will please coach Andre Villas-Boas, whose team finished second in Ligue 1 last season but needed strengthening in central defence.