Manchester City close to striking a deal to sign Argentina starlet Claudio Echeverri

Manchester City are close to striking a deal to sign talented youngster Claudio Echeverri from River Plate, sources have confirmed to 90min.

17-year-old has caught the attention of some of Europe's top clubs since breaking into the River Plate first-team in 2023, making six appearances in all competitions as the Argentine giants won both the Argentine Primera Division and the Trofeo de Campeones.

Echeverri's most notable outings to date, however, have come at underage international level with Argentina. The attacking midfielder thoroughly impressed at the recent U-17 FIFA World Cup, scoring a famous hat-trick in a quarter-final victory over arch rivals Brazil on the way to a fourth-place finish at the tournament.

90min reported at the start of December that both Man City and Chelsea had shown a strong interest in signing Echeverri, and the former are now close to finalising a deal after progressing talks in recent weeks.

The deal is set to see the youngster stay at River until at least the summer, but could potentially stay until the end of 2024 in order to garner some valuable first-team minutes. Sources have confirmed that City have pressed forward with talks due to the interest of Chelsea and emerging interest from La Liga giants Barcelona.

Along with Echeverri, 90min understands that Man City also retain an interest in River Plate youngsters Agustin Ruberto and Ian Subiabre as well.

Ruberto and Subiabre both also impressed at the U-17 World Cup with Argentina, with Ruberto picking up the golden boot award thanks to his stunning eight goals during the competition in Indonesia.

The pair, like Echeverri, have also garnered interest from elsewhere too, with Brighton and Hove Albion, Tottenham Hotspur, Real Madrid and Barcelona all being engaged in talks.

READ THE LATEST NEWS FROM 90MIN'S TALKING TRANSFERS TEAM