Manchester City look to raid River Plate for another Argentine starlet, this time eyeing a move for promising teenager Claudio Echeverri.
As reported by the Athletic, the Cityzens are currently leading the race for the 17-year-old and are confident of wrapping up this deal after the player was initially linked with Barcelona and Chelsea.
According to the Athletic, this deal could cost in the region of $22M. Similar to the arrangement that brought Julian Alvarez from Estadio Monumental to the Etihad Stadium, City are planning to loan the player back to River Plate should they wrap up this transfer.
Echeverri is a highly-rated attacking midfielder who began garnering worldwide attention thanks to his 2023 FIFA U17 World Cup campaign in November. The teenager captained Argentina all the way to the semifinals where they lost to eventual champions Germany on penalties. Claudio scored five goals throughout the tournament, including an unforgettable quarterfinal hat-trick against bitter rivals Brazil, and won the Bronze Boot along the way.
The Argentine, who has been dubbed the "the next Messi" thanks to his speed and dribbling, has a $27.5M release clause but is out of contract come this time next year.
Additionally, the attacking midfielder already confirmed he will not be extending his deal but City's desire to loan him back likely played a role in negotiating a fee below his release clause.
Echeverri isn't the only River Plate player on the Cityzens' radar. The Premier League giants are reportedly eyeing the Argentine giants' left-back Valentin Barco but a deal for that highly-rated 19-year-old isn't in the works right now.
