La Liga side poised to sign Manchester City starlet this summer | OneFootball

Manchester City are the latest of the nouveau riche to take a serious interest in the emerging talents coming out of Latin America, as they evidenced in January. Spending a combined €55.5m on teenage duo Claudio Echeverri from River Plate and Vitor Reis from Palmeiras.

The former could be on their way to La Liga this summer, according to reports from Argentina. Veronica Brunati has explained that the 19-year-old, who is yet to be integrated into the matchday squad by Pep Guardiola is likely to join Girona on loan. The Catalan side, who are also owned by the City Group, will make use of their links, and Echeverri is set to head to Montilivi after completing preseason with Manchester City.

That is if he is not used as part of another deal. GdS, in a report carried by Football Italia, have explained that City have taken an interest in centre-back Mario Gila of Lazio. The ex-Real Madrid man recently earned his first Spain call-up, although he did not make his debut, and is a target for the current Premier League champions. Echeverri could be used as a bargaining chip in a deal with Lazio for Gila, although it is not clear if the Eagles have an interest in the Argentine.

Image via El Grafico

Echeverri, 19, was snapped up by Manchester City over a year ago, having impressed asa  17-year-old breaking into the River Plate first team. Left-footed and technically gifted, Echeverri was also watched by Real Madrid and Barcelona before City moved for him, and can play off the right or from behind the striker.

Girona manager Michel Sanchez would no doubt relish the opportunity to work with him, often getting the best out of similar players. That said, he currently has star man Viktor Tsygankov and record signing Yaser Asprilla in that position, although there is no guarantee either will be there next season.