Manchester City appear to have made their Claudio Echeverri decision, and it is considerably better news for the youngster than expected earlier this summer.
The Argentine spent much of the window surrounded by talk of another exit. River Plate wanted him back, while reports in Argentina suggested Manchester City were considering another loan.
As we covered earlier this summer, Enzo Maresca wanted to assess Echeverri himself before allowing that to happen. Now that process appears to have produced a clear answer.
According to Soy del Millo, Maresca has taken a “firm stance” on Echeverri. The Manchester City manager wants to give the 20-year-old minutes and has therefore ruled out his departure for now.
Maresca assessment changes everything
The youngster was given minutes during City’s pre-season and the new manager has apparently seen enough to change the direction of his summer.
That has ended River’s hopes of bringing their former player back during the current window.
Soy del Millo say River’s expectations dropped because of Maresca’s position. He intends to give Echeverri opportunities and does not want him leaving. And for ‘El Diablito’, it is essentially another new beginning.
River haven’t disappeared completely
There is still a River angle to the story, although it now concerns the future more than this window.
Echeverri recently shared a photograph of himself wearing a River shirt. Unsurprisingly, that attracted plenty of attention in Argentina.
The 20-year-old has never hidden his affection for his former club, and Soy del Millo believe the possibility of a return remains alive further down the line.
There is no longer enough room in the current transfer window for River to launch another attempt, according to the report. Instead, they could revisit the situation in December.
Much will presumably depend on what happens between now and then. Echeverri has spent his first period as a Manchester City player moving between clubs without ever finding the consistent football required to establish himself.
Maresca now appears ready to try something different. Keeping him at the Etihad is encouraging in itself. The next part is more important.
If Manchester City have rejected another exit because Maresca genuinely intends to use Echeverri, the Argentine finally needs those promised opportunities to arrive. River will be watching closely if they don’t.
