Man City closing in on Argentine wonderkid in £21million transfer – but fans won’t see him for at least a year

MANCHESTER CITY are closing in on a £21.7 million deal for River Plate’s starlet Claudio Echeverri.

The 17-year-old attacking midfielder – nicknamed ‘Little Devil’ – has also been chased by Barcelona in recent months.

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Manchester City are closing in on the signing of Claudio Echeverri[/caption]

However, City have good relations with the Argentine club having done the deal to sign Julian Alvarez two years ago.

And they are willing to let Echeverri spend another year in his homeland on loan before moving over to England – just as they did with Alvarez.

The treble winners have been monitoring the youngster for some time but talks have stepped up since he starred for his nation at last month’s under-17 World Cup.

Confirmation of the agreement with City could come when the January transfer window opens on Monday.

Chelsea had previously been linked with a move for Echeverri, but he now appears destined to head to the Etihad Stadium.

The teenage midfielder has impressed for both club and country this year, captaining Argentina at Under-17 level.

He has scored 13 goals in 23 caps for the side, including five strikes in their run to the U17 World Cup semi-finals.

Echeverri has since reached six first-team appearances for River Plate, who won their 38th league title earlier this year.

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Echeverri is set to be loaned back to River Plate[/caption]

The youngster will hope to follow in compatriot Alvarez’s footsteps once he arrives in the Premier League.

Alvarez followed up his World Cup triumph by winning the treble with City in his debut campaign in 2022/23.

Across 75 appearances for Pep Guardiola’s side, the 23-year-old has scored 27 goals and provided 14 assists.

AP

Echeverri will hope to emulate compatriot Julian Alvarez’s success at City[/caption]