MANCHESTER CITY
Manchester City set to land Argentine wonderkid Claudio Echeverri from River Plate
The Argentine midfielder will stay with River until December 2024 before moving to England.
Manchester City are set to sign Claudio Echeverri on a six-year deal from River Plate. As reported by Fabrizio Romano, the Argentine talent will stay with River for another year on loan as part of the deal with the reigning European champions.
The 17-year-old has been on the radar of many top European teams in recent months and his brilliant performances at the U-17 World Cup with Argentina only added to the interest. Barcelona and Real Madrid were both interested in acquiring his services, but City have won the race to land the highly-talented player.
Pro deal with River
The year began with his first professional contract for two years with River Plate until December 2024 with a clause of €25 million, a sign of his performances at underage level as he had not yet made his debut with the first team. Then came the South American U-17 Championship in April, his debut with River in June, and, finally, the U-17 World Cup with Argentina.
“I am convinced that the Echeverri issue will be resolved by the end of the year. That’s what his agent told me,” said Jorge Brito, president of River, in an interview with TyC Sports.
“We had agreed to discuss this before the World Cup, but we didn’t want to hinder that trip and he did great. We are accompanying the whole process of Claudio’s growth and I hope we will soon have news.”
Attacking midfielder
Echeverri - an attacking midfielder - was voted the third best player at the U-17 World Cup after scoring five goals as La Albiceleste finished in fourth place.