Man City confirm signing of 'next Messi' but wonderkid must wait year for debut
Manchester City have fended off fierce competition to complete the signing of midfielder Claudio Echeverri - who's been dubbed the 'next Lionel Messi'.
Echeverri, 18, joins from Argentine champions River Plate, where former City defender Martin Demichelis is manager. Tying him down on a four-and-a-half-year contract, City are believed to have stumped up an initial transfer fee in the region of £12.5million, and agreed to pay performances-related add-ons which could take the deal up to £22m.
However, Echeverri will stay at River - who the Treble winners recruited another Argentine from in 2022, Julian Alvarez - for the rest of the calendar year, meaning that his City debut is likely to come in January 2025. Highly rated in his homeland, the right-footed playmaker captained Argentina at the recent Under-17 World Cup and finished as the tournament's third-top goalscorer.
Tipped to follow in Messi's imposing footsteps and lead his nation for future generations, Echeverri caught the eye of Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus - as well as AC and Inter Milan - with his displays for club and country. Nicknamed El Diablito - which in Spanish means Little Devil - Echeverri has already revealed that his dream club is Barcelona, and the La Liga giants' boss Xavi even praised him in a press conference earlier this season.
"The boy is a talent," Xavi declared. "Beyond the hat-trick he scored against Brazil [during the U17 World Cup], he's a difference-maker, but it's something for the scouting department [to deal with]."
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The 18-year-old expressed his desire to one-day play for Barcelona by saying: "I am a big Lionel Messi fan and I watched him play there, so they are a team I have followed since I was very young."
City's next bit of business will be to loan out-of-favour midfielder Kalvin Phillips to West Ham. The England international, 28, has agreed to join David Moyes' side for the remainder of this season and the Irons will have the option to purchase Phillips for around £35m once the summer transfer window opens.
Claudio Echeverri will remain with River Plate until the end of 2024 (Joaquín Camiletti/Getty Images)Your turn! Who should Manchester City sign next? Give us your pick in the comments section.
Pep Guardiola has reshaped his midfield over the past six months, with the departure of Ilkay Gundogan last June prompting them to sign Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea and Wolves' Matheus Nunes for a combined £78m. Still, Guardiola will be relying on more established midfield stars such as Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva as they go in pursuit of retaining their Premier League and Champions League titles.
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