Rio de Janeiro, Jan 12 (IANS): Brazilian football club Gremio have signed the country's former Under-20 defender Rafael Galhardo on a one-year loan deal from Santos.
The Porto Alegre club will have the option of signing the 23-year-old on a permanent contract in December, reports Xinhua.
Galhardo will compete for the right-back position with Argentine Matias Rodriguez, whose contract expires in June.
Gremio are expected to confirm the signing this week, along with that of Ecuador international defender Frickson Erazo.
A former Flamengo youth academy player, Galhardo was a member of Brazil's 2011 U-20 World Cup winning team in Colombia.