Celtic have 'enough time' to make signing in 'key position' | OneFootball

Highlights

Manchester City have signed highly-rated youngster Claudio Echeverri from River Plate in a deal worth just £12.5m. The forward has emerged as a seriously exciting prospect in recent months, with many within football expecting huge things from him in the future. The Cityzens are the side that have bagged his signature, though, with the club announcing the deal.

Echeverri will spend the remainder of 2024 with River Plate, allowing him to continue developing with the side before he's ready to make an impact at the Etihad in the Premier League next year. The youngster has signed a contract with Pep Guardiola's side that will run until 2028, ensuring City have control of him and his development for the next few years which should excite everyone associated with the club.

Back in his native Argentina, where he's been making a name for himself at River Plate, Echeverri has been labeled the 'next Lionel Messi' by those that have watched his career closely so far. It's quite an astonishing claim and will set expectations for his career at an incredibly high level going forward. He's even been included in The Guardian's 60 best young talents in all of football right now.

If he's even half as good as the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner has been throughout his career, he'll be one hell of a bargain for City at just £12.5m.

Echeverri has only just broken into the River Plate team

He's played six times for the senior team

Echeverri has caught the eye of the football world in quick fashion. He's highly rated by numerous teams in the sport, but he's actually only just broken into the River Plate team fairly recently. After coming through the youth ranks, 2023 proved to be the year that he finally got his chance in the senior side.

Throughout the year, he played six times for the Argentine club, and it's a testament to just how impressive he is, that he's already caught the eye of City despite playing so little football at a senior level. A large reason for that might be down to his incredible performances in international football.

The 18-year-old was insane for Argentina U17

He thrived in the setup

While he hasn't really had the chance to do too much in football at a senior level so far in his career, Echeverri really made a name for himself through his time with Argentina's U17 team. Making his debut for the side in 2022, he played 22 games for the youth team and thrived from the get-go.

In the course of a year, he scored 13 times for his country, including a pretty memorable hat-trick against rivals Brazil in the quarter-finals of the FIFA U-17 World Cup back in November 2023. He's now moved up to the U23 team, making his debut earlier this month. It's impossible to correctly predict the future, but it feels like a safe bet to assume that Echeverri is destined to succeed, and the Etihad could be the perfect place for him to do that.