Manchester City are set to complete the capture of Claudio Echeverri, talkSPORT understands.
The Argentine midfielder will join for a fee of £22million.
The 17-year-old will initially be loaned back to current club River Plate as he continues his development before relocating to the north west of England.
City beat off stiff competition to secure the whizz-kid’s signature, pipping Premier League rivals Chelsea and Barcelona to the deal.
Echeverri appeared on the radar of many of world football’s top sides after starring for Argentina at the Under-17 World Cup last month.
In that tournament, he scored five goals in total including a hat-trick against Brazil in the quarter-final.
The deal has stark similarities with that which brought Julian Alvarez to the club from River Plate in January 2022.
After spending a further six months in Argentina, the striker has helped Man City to win the Premier League, the FA Cup, the Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup.
He’s also scored 27 goals in 75 games, while also winning the World Cup with Argentina 12 months ago.
If Echeverri can achieve even a slither of that success, he’ll no doubt be deemed to be a successful signing.
