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“I cannot answer you” – Major confusion surrounding plans for €15 million Manchester City signing

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The destination for midfielder Claudio Echeverri following his arrival from River Plate remains unknown ahead of the summer transfer window.

The 18-year-old is expected to move to the Etihad Stadium in January 2025 after completing an initial £12.5 million move to Manchester City in January 2024, opting to move to east Manchester despite interest from Chelsea and Barcelona.

Echeverri was immediately loaned back to River Plate upon signing a deal until 2028 with Manchester City, but is expected to remain in Argentina for only another few months, ahead of being integrated by the City Football Group.

The midfielder will become the latest South American prodigy to move to Manchester City, with the River Plate and Argentina Under-17 star following in the footsteps of Gabriel Jesus, Maximo Perrone and Julian Alvarez.

The 2006-born star captained Argentina at the Under-17 FIFA World Cup in November, scoring five goals – including a hat-trick against Brazil at the quarter-final stage.

Echeverri has made 19 appearances for River Plate this season and the club have qualified for both the Copa Libertadores and FIFA Club World Cup in 2025, with Manchester City also set to compete in the latter competition next summer.

Whether Echeverri will be with Pep Guardiola’s squad for the competition remains unknown, with the potential for the teenager to be loaned out to another club within the City Football Network, such as La Liga side Girona.

The Catalan club qualified for the UEFA Champions League this season, and manager Michel has also been mooted as a potential replacement for Guardiola at the Etihad Stadium next year.

The Girona boss is unaware of the plan for Echeverri however, having told TNT Sports: “To this day I cannot answer you. The City Group acquired him, but they have not given me details that we are going to have him with us.”

Manchester City and Girona are set to complete some transfer business this summer as well, with Savio expected to move to the Premier League club, and the potential for James McAtee to be loaned to the Spanish side.

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