Manchester City have reached an agreement with Argentinian side River Plate for Claudio Echeverri, the 17-year-old attacking midfielder. The two clubs have decided to keep Echeverri on loan at River Plate until December 2024, when the South American season ends.

Thereafter, he will make the move to Europe, especially since he will be of the legal age to get a passport. Echeverri becomes the latest South American youngster to join the City Football Group, following in the footsteps of Manchester City and former River Plate striker Julian Alvarez.

Claudio Echeverri to join Manchester City in December 2024

Once the youngster has joined Manchester City next January, he will sign a six-year contract until 2030 with the Sky Blues. Chelsea and Barcelona were also interested in signing the midfielder, but City have been able to fend off competition from both of them to sign the young gem.

It will be interesting to see whether the player can break into the Manchester City first team at the age of 18, or whether he is sent to other CFG clubs to develop his game. Echeverri has shown excellent potential so far, and could be an important player for Manchester City going forward.

But due to the sheer quality of the first team, it could be difficult for him to get regular minutes, like Cole Palmer who eventually left for Chelsea and has been performing exceptionally.