Manchester City have had to knock back a number of offers from interested clubs for Claudio Echeverri, according to journalist Fabrizio Romano.
The teenager’s season-long loan move to River Plate will end in the New Year and Romano says that the Premier League champions are planning to integrate him into the first-team squad when he returns.
“Manchester City keep rejecting approaches for Claudio Echeverri’s loan move, not only from River Plate. Echeverri is considered part of Man City[‘s] long-term project already from 2025.”
Considering Echeverri is still only 18 years of age, it is slightly surprising to hear that the Cityzens deem him ready for the senior side so soon but it appears the club’s coaching staff rate him very highly.
City snapped him up for a pretty modest fee
Considering his level of talent, the Manchester club got themselves a bargain when they paid just £12.5m (plus add-ons) at the start of this year.
The only condition for the deal was that Echeverri would remain in Argentina on loan until 2025, and we are now only a couple of months away from his spell at River Plate coming to an end.
How has Echeverri performed?
After being loaned back to River Plate near the end of January, the attacking midfielder has made 35 appearances, scoring 4 goals and contributing 3 assists.
Echeverri scored his first senior goal during a 3-1 home win over Gimnasia in March. He has subsequently hit the back of the net in domestic games against Belgrano and Huracan.
His most high-profile moment came when he scored in the Copa Libertadores (the South American equivalent of the Champions League). The Argentinian youth international bagged River Plate’s opener during their 2-0 win over Club Nacional in the group stages. His team made it all the way to the semi-final before losing to Brazilian side Atletico Mineiro over two legs.
Find out who is in Manchester City’s first-team squad for the 2024/2025 season here
