Manchester City have overcome stiff competition to sign midfielder Claudio Echeverri, dubbed the ‘new Lionel Messi’.
Echeverri, 18, comes from Argentine champions River Plate, where former City defender Martin Demichelis is the manager. City are thought to have paid an initial transfer fee of around £12.5 million and agreed to pay performance-related add-ons that could bring the deal up to £22 million, tying him in for four and a half years.
However, Echeverri will remain at River – where the Treble winners signed another Argentine, Julian Alvarez, in 2022 – for the remainder of the calendar year, implying that his City debut will most likely be in January 2025. Highly regarded in his hometown, the right-footed playmaker captained Argentina at the recent Under-17 World Cup, finishing as the tournament’s third-highest goalscorer.
Echeverri, tipped to follow in Messi’s imposing footsteps and lead his country for future generations, piqued the interest of Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, and Juventus, as well as AC and Inter Milan, with his club and international performances. Echeverri, nicknamed El Diablito (which means Little Devil in Spanish), has already indicated that Barcelona is his dream club, and La Liga boss Xavi lauded him in a news conference earlier this season.
“The boy is a talent,” Xavi remarked. “Beyond the hat-trick he scored against Brazil [during the U17 World Cup], he’s a difference-maker, but it’s something for the scouting department [to deal with].”
The 18-year-old emphasised his desire to play for Barcelona by declaring, “I am a big Lionel Messi fan of that team since I was a kid, and I’ve seen him play there.
City’s next move will be to loan out-of-favour midfielder Kalvin Phillips to West Ham. The 28-year-old England international has agreed to join David Moyes’ side for the remainder of the season, and the Irons will have the option to sign Phillips for about £35 million when the summer transfer window opens.
Pep Guardiola has overhauled his midfield over the previous six months, with the loss of Ilkay Gundogan in June prompting them to buy Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea and Matheus Nunes from Wolves for a combined £78 million. Guardiola will, however, rely on more seasoned midfielders such as Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva as they seek to defend their Premier League and Champions League titles.
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