Manchester City look set to add more attacking depth to their side after having signed Omar Marmoush in January with the imminent arrival of Claudio Echeverri.
Echeverri is on his way to Manchester City after the Under-20 South American Championships have finally drawn to close.
City fans have every reason to be rejoicing about the aforementioned update as Claudio Echeverri, 19 is one of the most exciting young players in the world.
The Argentine, who was signed by Manchester City in January 2024 but allowed to remain on loan at River Plate.
But as Echeverri’s loan spell at River has come to an end, he now has the chance to finally play his football under Pep Guardiola.
Echeverri is expected to get limited playing time at Manchester City, with Guardiola wishing to slowly integrate him into a side that are not firing on all cylinders in any case.
Xavi said Man City new-boy Claudio Echeverri is a difference-maker
So far, the Catalan tactician seems to be taking the same approach with Vitor Reis, who has started just once for City so far and has not even been registered in their Champions League squad; with the reason perhaps being that he has not played in Europe before and is still too inexperienced.
But Echeverri is a signing for the future and Manchester City will be delighted that they have beaten several teams to his signing, including Barcelona.
When asked about the highly-rated technician in December 2023, Xavi Hernandez, who was managing the Spanish giants at the time did not deny that they were interested in him as he sang the now-City wonderkid’s praises.
Xavi said via Mundo Deportivo: “Echeverri is a talent, beyond the three goals against Brazil [for Argentina’s U-17 side], he is a differential footballer but this is the scouting area that is involved.”
Former Manchester City players have lauded Echeverri as well.
Carlos Tevez hailed Echeverri’s talent and described him as an “interesting player.” Meanwhile, Martin Demichelis claimed Echeverri is a future superstar and his opinion is priceless due to the veteran managing the young midfielder at River Plate.
Angel Di Maria claimed Claudio Echeverri has “some fire in him”
When Echeverri trained with Argentina’s senior team, Angel Di Maria was impressed by him as well.
Di Maria said via TyC Sports: “You can see he’s got some fire in him, we definitely watched him.”
“He’s got a lot to give. We’ve already been seeing it. It’s nice that the coaching staff gives these types of opportunities to the little ones to be able to enjoy with the older ones in this beautiful moment that we are living in.”
Echeverri has been compared to Lionel Messi as well as it seems like many figures within the game believe he is a potential star in the making.
Pep Guardiola asked Echeverri to train physically to get up to speed with Premier League football and he seems a lot bulkier recently and most importantly, ready to compete in the English top-flight.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 4 |  Man CityManchester City | 25 | 13 | 5 | 7 | 52 | 35 | 17 | 44 |
With Xavi and Angel Di Maria being fans of the Manchester City prospect, he looks like a player who will have the home support at the Etihad Stadium on the edges of their seats.
