Manchester City are now hopeful of signing Real Madrid target Claudio Echeverri from River Plate.
That is according to the Mirror.
So, what is the situation involving Claudio Echeverri and Manchester City? Let’s take a look…
Manchester City optimistic about Claudio Echeverri deal
Well, it sounds as if Manchester City have a degree of optimism going into this transfer pursuit.
The Mirror believe the treble winners are hopeful of striking a deal with River Plate for Echeverri after creating strong ties to the Argentinian giants during negotiations to sign Julian Alvarez.
Manchester City allowed the Argentina international to rejoin River Plate on loan after signing him in a £14.1m deal back in January 2022.
Now, the Citizens are hoping to take another elite talent from the Estadio Mâs Monumental in Echeverri – who the Mirror believe is also wanted by Real Madrid, Barcelona, PSG, Juventus, Inter and AC Milan.
The 17-year-old is said to have a release clause worth £21.4m written into his contract, although River Plate are desperately trying to renegotiate his deal to double that sum.
Echeverri recently scored a stunning hat trick against Brazil at the Under-17 World Cup, which helped Argentina reach the Semi-Final.
What Manchester City might do with Claudio Echeverri
If Manchester City win the race to sign Echeverri – who has been compared to Diego Maradona – it may be a while until we see him at the Etihad Stadium.
Given the fact the Argentine is just 17 years of age, the chances are that Manchester City will choose to get him involved in the City Football Group development scheme, loaning him out to somewhere like Girona, Troyes or New York City FC to aid his development.
Echeverri is a special talent, but even with his level of ability, an immediate jump into the starting XI at Manchester City feels highly unlikely to happen if a deal does end up materialising.
