Was the most expensive 18-year-old at Man City
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His loan to Bayer Leverkusen ended prematurely in December due to a lack of playing time. Now Claudio Echeverri is trying out the Spanish first division. Manchester City and partner club FC Girona announced on Sunday another loan move for the 20-year-old attacking midfielder, who Man City brought from Argentina for a double-digit million sum.
Echeverri will stay with the Catalans until the end of the season. There is no mention of a possible purchase option for either club. According to a club statement, Girona appreciates the Argentine’s technical quality in being able to operate in small spaces. Echeverri is described as a creative footballer with good ball control, game overview and precise passes. He is also able to cause disruption in the opponent’s penalty area both when dribbling and in one-on-one situations. It is said that his mobility, tactical understanding and ball handling make him an option in several areas of the offense.
Echeverri was actually supposed to spend the season in Leverkusen. Not even halfway through the season did the English pull the ripcord through a clause. The player was only able to play for the Werkself for around 270 minutes – spread across eleven games. Once in the Bundesliga and twice in the Champions League he was rarely allowed to start. An assist is the scorer yield of the twelve-time U20 national player.
With the decision to say goodbye to Echeverri early in the winter, the Werkself were obviously also fine. If the Leverkusen team had wanted to keep the talent, they would have reportedly only had to use him once more. Man City’s return clause only applied if Echeverri was used in less than half of Bayer’s games.
The Skyblues from Manchester paid the equivalent of more than 18 million euros to River Plate for Echeverri in January 2024, shortly after he caused a stir with five goals at the U17 World Cup. To date, Echeverri remains the most expensive 18-year-old in City’s history. The prospect of playing time in the Premier League was slim, even after a temporary loan back to Argentina. That hasn’t changed to this day. A recent solution option was a return to former club River Plate. Instead, the young professional is now the first winter transfer to Girona, where Echeverri could soon meet German national goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen. Like Man City, Girona belongs to the City Football Group.
