Manchester City are tooling up for another busy transfer window at the Etihad Stadium and are now close to an agreement with a rising young star, according to a report.
Manchester City look to strengthen in January…
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola will probably feel one or two key additions are necessary in January as his side look to ramp up their pursuit of a record fourth Premier League title in a row once the mid-season window opens for business.
With the market now teetering on the verge of re-activating, transfer insider Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that the Sky Blues have already completed one piece of business at academy level in the form of Leeds United youngster Finley Gorman.
Nonetheless, there will be plenty of stories that do the rounds regarding potential incomings in the North West. Romano has also recently confirmed that Girona loanee Savio, who has become something of a breakout star in La Liga, is another name on their radar ,and internal talks have taken place over a potential swoop for the Brazilian attacker.
The 19-year-old is currently on loan from ESTAC Troyes and both his parent and temporary home function under the banner of the City Football Group, which could pave the way for Savio to journey through three affiliated clubs in order to end up at Manchester City.
Now, a similar deal to the one that brought Julian Alvarez to Manchester is in the works in Argentina.
Manchester City close to signing Claudio Echeverri
According to ESPN, Manchester City are close to signing River Plate midfielder Claudio Echeverri after holding formal talks over bringing the 17-year-old to England. Once a deal is completed, it is believed that the Argentina Under-17 international will then be loaned back to his current employers to continue his development in what would be a similar arrangement to the one with Alvarez.
Argentinian journalist Gaston Edul has even gone one step further, saying Echeverri is "about to be sold" to Man City, but also reaffirming the player will stay with River for six or 12 months.
Claudio Echeverri statistics in 2023 – Liga Profesional de Futbol (Sofascore)
Key passes per game
0.5
Accurate passes per game
10.3 (91%)
Duels won per game
2.3 (50%)
Accurate long balls per game
0.8 (100%)
Average match rating
6.6/10
Echeverri's contract at River Plate expires in the winter of 2024 and he has indicated that he will not be signing an extension at the Argentinian giants, with Barcelona also mooted to be keen on his signature.
In total, the Resistencia-born youngster has managed to make six senior appearances for River Plate in all competitions, registering one assist in the process (Echeverri statistics – Transfermarkt).
Labelled "incredible" by talent scout Jacek Kulig, the prodigious talent is one of the world's most heralded young players at the moment following his outstanding performance at the Under-17 World Cup, where he scored five goals, including a hat-trick against Brazil in the quarter-final.
