Manchester City is committed to the future after signing 18-year-old River Plate teenager Claudio Echeverri. But City will have to wait for at least a year before the wunderkind from Argentina goes to Europe.
City completed the deal with a rumored price tag of $15 million. Echeverri will return to River Plate on loan for a year to train under former City midfielder Martin Drmichelis.
The Premier League champions are high on Echeverri, who gained fame as a U17 star for Argentina. The 5-foot-7 winger collected 13 goals and five assists in 22 appearances dating from March 2022 to last month.
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Echeverri starred in the U17 World Cup quarterfinals where he completed a hat trick against Brazil. That was his main highlight in the tournament where he finished with five goals and one assist.
However, Argentina lost to Mali in the battle for third place.
Among the players coming from Argentins who went to City include Sergio Aguero, Pablo Zabaleta, and Javier Mascherano.
Echeverri hopes to follow in the footsteps of Mascherano, Enzo Fernandez, Gonzalo Montiel, and Alfredo Di Stefano. The four were River Plate players who completed the transition to playing for City in Europe.
