Sevilla bring in Argentina defender Gabriel Mercado

Mercado links up with the Europa League champions after four seasons with River Plate in Argentina.

The 29-year-old won six trophies with the Buenos Aires club, and was in the side that lost out to Barcelona in the 2015 Club World Cup final.

The defender is expected to help fill the void left by captain Coke, who departed the LaLiga side for Schalke in the Bundesliga this week.

Mercado has 10 international caps to his name, and was a key figure in Argentina's recent Copa America Centenario campaign.

The right-back started five of Argentina's six games at the tournament, in which they went down to Chile on penalties in the decider.

Mercado becomes Sevilla's ninth signing of the off-season as they begin life under new coach Jorge Sampaoli.