Manchester City will reportedly integrate Claudio Echeverri into their first-team squad in January 2025 when his loan deal at River Plate expires.
The Citizens confirmed the signing of the highly-rated 18-year-old in January of this year for an initial £12.5m, which could rise to as much as £21.7m with performance-related add-ons.
Echeverri was immediately loaned back to River Plate to continue his development in his native Argentina and it was agreed that the youngster would remain at his boyhood club until the end of 2024.
According to the Manchester Evening News, there were initially no plans made for Echeverri in 2025 by Man City, but the reigning Premier League champions have now decided to bring the teenager to the Etihad Stadium in January.
The report adds that Pep Guardiola is set to add Echeverri to his first-team squad and the versatile midfielder could make his senior debut for the Citizens before the end of the current campaign if he impresses in training.
Echeverri will soon be following a similar path to Julian Alvarez, who also swapped River Plate for the blue side of Manchester in January 2022, spending an initial six months on loan with the Argentinian side before joining up with Guardiola's men for the 2022-23 campaign.
© Imago
Argentine "marvel" Echeverri to join Man City in January
Alvarez went on to score 36 goals in 108 games and win a total of six trophies at Man City across two seasons at the club, before completing a reported £82m transfer to Atletico Madrid in the summer.
Echeverri, meanwhile, has chipped in with four goals and five assists in 39 senior appearances for River Plate, while he rose to prominence during last year's Under-17 South American Championship, recording five goals and three assists in eight games for Argentina.
Former Man City defender Martin Demichelis was River Plate's manager until July 2024 and he believes that Echeverri has an exciting future ahead of him.
"Claudio is truly one of the great emerging talents in River's football," Demichelis told reporters. "We have a great squad that always produces technically gifted players. However, the day-to-day whirlwind at River demands not only winning but being a protagonist in a very special way, trying to play well.
"I believe that when you leave River well-formed, you are prepared for anything. Claudio is still in the stage of evolution. He has made a very, very significant leap in recent months. Technically, he is a marvel.
"We enjoy watching him play, even at such a young age. He caught everyone's attention. We'll enjoy him for a while longer and then leave him to you."
The arrival of Echeverri at Man City will bolster Guardiola's relatively small first-team squad that is currently having to cope without the presence of star midfielder Rodri, who is ruled out for the rest of the season with an ACL injury, while Oscar Bobb (leg fracture) is not expected to return until the end of the year at the earliest.
Oliver Thomas
