MANCHESTER CITY have announced the signing of wonderkid Claudio Echeverri.
The 19-year-old joined the club from River Plate last January in a £12.5million deal but remained on loan in his homeland of Argentina until last month.
Echeverri, who has been dubbed as the “new Lionel Messi”, has now finally been unveiled after arriving in Manchester to join up with the City squad for the rest of the season.
The attacking midfielder is eligible to make his debut in the FA Cup fifth round tie against Plymouth on Saturday.
Echeverri revealed he spoke to former City stars and compatriots Sergio Aguero and Martin Demichelis ahead of his move to England.
He said: “They told me it was a great club with amazing players and a beautiful history.
“I knew about it [the relationship between Argentina and City]. Aguero, in particular, stands out.
“He’s a legend here at City because of everything he achieved and the incredible player he was.
“I used to watch him play and, honestly, it’s an amazing feeling to be here.”
City chief Txiki Begiristain added: “Claudio is one of the finest talents to emerge from South America in recent years.
“We knew as soon as we watched him play we wanted him to become a Manchester City player.
“All the natural elements are there – his touch, technique, eye for goal and dribbling ability. Our job now is to take those attributes and shape Claudio into a world-class player.”
Echeverri captained and scored six goals for Argentina at the Under-20 South American Championship after finding the back of the net four times for River Plate last season.
He is the latest youngster through the door at the Etihad following a £182m splurge in January to freshen Pep Guardiola’s squad.
City spent a reported £60m on Omar Marmoush, £50m on Nico Gonzalez, £33m on Abdukodir Khusanon and £30m on Vitor Reis.
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