Manchester United reportedly held talks with River Plate for the so-called ‘next Lionel Messi’, Claudio Echeverri, who is now officially a Man City player after agreeing £12.5 million move.
After the Red Devils snatched Omar Berrada from under the noses of their blue-clad neighbours and installed him as Old Trafford’s new CEO, City have hit back by securing the services of one of South America’s rising stars – and Berrada played a key part.
Manchester United, according to 90Min, were one of a number of clubs who opened a dialogue with River Plate before Christmas, teen sensation Claudio Echeverri emerging on many a radar after hitting a hat-trick past Brazil at the Under 17 World Cup.
By the time that report emerged at the start of December, however, Man City were already confident of securing Echeverri’s sought-after signature. And one of the Premier League’s worst-kept secrets is now out in the open, the 18-year-old officially following in the footsteps of Julian Alvarez while posing for photos in that baby blue shirt.
Interestingly, The Athletic reports that Berrada played a key role in the deal which brought Echeverri to City. United will now be hoping to benefit from the CEO’s renowned negotiation skills – but in this instance, his switch to OId Trafford came just too late.
Manchester United target seals Man City move
BBC Sport reports that Man City will pay around £12.5 million for Echeverri, who returns to River Plate on loan for the remainder of the season. A penny for Ralf Rangnick’s thoughts, United’s former interim coach having urged the Red Devils to take a punt on Echeverri’s fellow Argentine Alvarez before he became a treble-winner under Pep Guardiola across the city.
“The answer at the time was no, there was no player on the market that could really help us,” Rangnick told Goal, before rattling off a list of players who’s availability makes a mockery of the claims coming from above.
“There were a few (we could have signed). (Luis) Diaz who is now at Liverpool. Alvarez at Manchester City. (Dusan) Vlahovic who at the time still was with Fiorentina.
“I spoke to the board and said; ‘Shouldn’t we at least speak and try and analyse if we could get a player either on loan or as a permanent deal’. But in the end the answer was no.”
Is Claudio Echeverri really the ‘next Lionel Messi’?
At least, with INEOS seizing control of all footballing matters, and intent on bringing in a world-leading director of football as well as a proven recruitment specialist, the sort of obstacles thrown in front of Rangnick by a short-sighted and largely incompetent board should soon be a thing of the past at Old Trafford.
Echeverri, who was also on Barcelona’s radar, has been dubbed the ‘next Lionel Messi’ by some back home in Argentina.
from United In Focus https://ift.tt/a81Ltq5