Eder Balanta joins Basel from River Plate

Eder Balanta might not look as promising as he did three years ago, but that isn't stopping FC Basel from rolling the dice on the Colombian centre-back.

On Friday, Basel signed Balanta from River Plate, as the 23-year-old put pen to paper on a four-year contract that will keep him with the Swiss club until June 30, 2020.

In 2013, it looked like River would sell Balanta for a lot of money in no time. As Tim Vickery recently wrote, he is "quick to move and quick to act, first to the ball and strong in the tackle, dominant in the air passing well from deep off his left foot, breaking forward with pace and purpose, and a threat in the opposing penalty area." Comparisons to Daniel Passarella, Argentina's captain when La Albiceleste won the 1978 World Cup, were made, and there were rumours of interest from Barcelona.

Over the last three years, however, Balanta suffered from injuries and all the momentum of his career came to a halt. He was called up to Colombia's 2014 World Cup squad and made one appearance at the tournament, and he also played a significant role when River conquered the Copa Libertadores in 2015, but all that is a shadow of what was expected of him three years ago.

Only time will tell whether Balanta can revive his career at Basel.