San Lorenzo insist Newcastle will have to release Fabricio Coloccini if the current Magpies captain is to secure a return to his native country with the Argentine club.

Coloccini, 30, has told the Toon he wants to return to Argentina due to personal reasons, and he is interested in joining San Lorenzo, one of his former clubs, where his father currently works.

The Primera Division side have stated openly that they cannot afford to buy the Argentina centre-back, who signed a new long-term contract on Tyneside last year, meaning the only way forward would be if Newcastle released him.

"We were always very clear and we said that it depends on the player," San Lorenzo president Matias Lammens told TyC Sports.

"We are going to offer him a good contract, he wants to come and I have hope that it can be done. We understand the people of Newcastle, it is hard to let a player like him leave.

"But Coloccini has to end his contract. We depend on the feelings of the player and on what he can negotiate in England. We can't buy his transfer in any way. He has been chosen as the best defender of the Premier League, he is an elite player.

"San Lorenzo can only point to Coloccini's feelings and not to his pocket. He has personal problems and wants to return to Argentina. We can only offer him a good contract."

Lammens added that the club have an alternative option in the shape of Palermo's Mauro Cetto.

"He [Coloccini] would be an emblem, we will wait until the end of this week - Sunday or Monday. But we do have a plan ban, and the preference of the coach is Mauro Cetto."

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