Agent confirms Manchester United target is joining City instead in £22m deal

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The agent of River Plate forward Claudio Echeverri has confirmed that Man City have again beaten Premier League rivals Manchester United to one of South America’s brightest young talents. 

Two years since the Red Devils ignored Ralf Rangnick’s advice and watched on as Julian Alvarez put pen to paper down the road at the Etihad Stadium, there is a nasty sense of deja vu accompanying Claudio Echeverri’s impending arrival in England’s north west. 

According to 90Min, Manchester United held initial talks with River Plate. But that is as far as their pursuit went, The Guardian reporting that Pep Guardiola’s treble winners have now concluded a deal worth around £22 million for the teenage forward. 

Man City beat United to Claudio Echeverri

“I can confirm that everything is done for the transfer of Claudio from River Plate to Manchester City,” agent Enzo Montepaone now tells Calciomercato.  

“We are very happy.”

The concern, among United supporters who have seen similar situations arise time and again during the Glazers era, is that Echeverri will become the latest in a long line of highly-talented youngsters who slipped through the clubs grasp.

United missed out on Echeverri’s soon-to-be City team-mates Alvarez and Erling Haaland, and also held talks with Jude Bellingham and Moises Caicedo when they were still teenagers. The appointment of an elite sporting director such as a Dan Ashworth or a Paul Mitchell cannot come soon enough, then, with United’s recruitment department frequently left choking on the dust of their forward-thinking, well-structured rivals. 

Another Julian Alvarez situation?

Echeverri shot to fame with a hat-trick against Brazil in the recent Under 17 World Cup. The diminutive forward will remain in Argentina for the next 12 months, re-joining River Plate on loan.

United could yet step up their interest in Echeverri’s fellow River starlets Augustin Ruberto and Ian Subiabre, however, though Sir Jim Ratcliffe appears keen to build his Red Devils revolution upon a more homegrown platform.