With Manchester City about to complete the purchase of Claudio Echeverri from River Plate, we expected the Argentine media to really hype up that transfer.
The treble winners are spending over €20m on an underage player, and that was supposed to show how certain they are that he holds huge potential. But that’s not how this story is seen by his country’s biggest sports newspaper.
Olé does feature today a front page about Echeverri’s move to Manchester City, but what they do is to say that he’s actually more likely to join Girona first.
According to the newspaper, Pep Guardiola hasn’t even seen ‘any videos’ of the River Plate youngster. It’s said the boss ‘is not even aware’ of the negotiations for the Argentine kid, as he’s a long-term shot by the club, unlike Julian Alvarez was by the time he moved.
“Julian was a player who had already developed and had continuity in the first division. Echeverri is still a player in training and even if the deal is completed he won’t be playing for City in the short term,” Olé’s sources said.
Regarding Pep Guardiola’s lack of interest and influence in the signing, there’s a reason to explain that, as the newspaper questions whether the coach will even train Echeverri. That’s because the player is expected to stay at River Plate until December 2024 before making the move to Europe. Then he could get the move to Girona to gain more experience, so it’s possible that by the time he finally reaches Manchester City, the manager isn’t there anymore.
