Chelsea and Manchester City have entered the race to sign River Plate teenage sensation Claudio Echeverri but their efforts may prove futile amid interest from Barcelona.
Echeverri has been dubbed the ‘next Lionel Messi’ after playing a starring role for Argentina at the U-17 World Cup. City would possibly feel they have an advantage over other teams looking to secure their facilities given that they are on a good run with River Plate after negotiating with the club for Julian Alvarez last year.
The 17-year-old attacking midfielder has also attracted the attention of Real Madrid, PSG, Juventus, as well as AC and Inter Milan. River Plate inserted a £21. 44 million buyout clause into the contract Echeverri signed in January, but that figure rises to £25. 73 million within 10 days of any move window closing.
While Chelsea and City are keeping tabs on the situation, it looks as if Barcelona are in the driving seat to land the signature of a talent who bagged a hat-trick against arch-rivals Brazil in Indonesia during the youth tournament. Prior to the Under 17’s World Cup last month, Echeverri dropped a huge hint over his preferred destination.
“In addition to River, I would like to play for Barça,” he admitted. “I’m a big fan of Lionel Messi and I’ve seen him play there, so it’s a team I’ve been following for a long time. “young man. “
Speculation linking the teenager with a move to the Camp Nou is expected to only continue after Xavi’s recent comments on Echeverri, where he heaped praise on the 17-year-old. The Barcelona boss claimed: “The boy is a talent. Beyond the hat-trick he scored against Brazil [at the U17 World Cup], he’s a difference-maker, but it’s something for the scouting department [to deal with].”
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Barcelona already have a wealth of exciting young talent, with the addition of Pedri, Gavi, Lamine Yamal and Casado. However, Xavi is keen to bolster his attacking characteristics in the long term and obviously sees Echeverri as a player who can make a difference.
With just a few weeks to go until the January transfer window, if City or Chelsea need to sign Echeverri, they would likely have to act quickly. It would seem that Barcelona would make the decision to lose given the mutual admiration.
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