Pep Guardiola to welcome £12.5million midfielder to Man City in January transfer window

Pep Guardiola will finally welcome Claudio Echeverri to in January once his loan spell with River Plate ends.

The midfielder was signed by the champions back in January, . The agreement allowed the teenager to remain with River Plate to continue his development, but once 2024 comes to an end Echeverri will head to Manchester.

A first-team debut before the end of the season remains a possibility if he impresses in training as City continue to exercise the South American market. Echeverri has been capped by Argentina's youth ranks and captained his nation at the U17 World Cup.

They unearthed a gem when they signed Julian Alvarez back in 2022. The striker helped them claim the treble, scoring 36 times across his two seasons, and was then .

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Echeverri will be pushing for involvement in the middle of the park, where City find themselves short after the season-ending injury to Rodri. Guardiola has been willing to give young players an opportunity with Rico Lewis and Oscar Bobb among the latest graduates from the club's academy.

Equally the Catalan has shown he can be reserved when it comes to exposing his young players. Much was made of the time it took to become a regular and Guardiola will likely give the Argentine minutes sporadically as he continues to develop.

Former City defender Martin Demichelis was River Plate's manager until July 2024 and is excited about what the player could achieve once he joins up with the Manchester outfit.

He said: "Claudio is truly one of the great emerging talents in River's football. 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."

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