Claudio Echeverri is a sought-after Argentine and River Plate prodigy that has interest from Manchester City and now Barcelona. The 17-year-old had a riveting U-17 FIFA World Cup, scoring a hat-trick against Brazil in the quarterfinals.
At the club level Claudio Echeverri has only played a handful of matches at River Plate and with the young prospect coming on his contract year the fans of River Plate have been angry at Martín Demichelis for not giving him more playing time.
Still in all of 18 games and 12 goals for the Argentine U-17’s and 5 games with River Plate have been enough to put a price tag between $25-30 million on the midfielder. Barcelona is keen to sign the youngster and Xavi did not hold back his praise about Claudio Echeverri.
Xavi on Claudio Echeverri
“He is a talent, beyond the goals he scored against Brazil, he is a differential footballer, but I am not in charge, the sports area is in charge” Xavi Hernández, Barcelona’s manager said at a press conference.
According to TyC Sports, Echeverri could be on his way to Barcelona next season in July of 2024. Echeverri turns 18 in January, and this will help his cause to transfer out of River Plate.
River Plate is trying to sign the youngster to an extension but with clubs like Barcelona and Manchester City keeping tabs the chances of him staying at River Plate are slim.
Who is Claudio Echeverri?
Claudio Echeverri was born in Resistencia, Chaco, Argentina and started his career with Deportivo Luján, before trialing with River Plate at the end of 2016, going on to sign officially the following year.
Echeverri scored on his debut in June 2023 with River Plate against Instituto in the Argentine League, a tournament River Plate won. He has not featured in the League Cup in the second semester due to national team commitments and Martín Demichelis’ bringing him along slowly.
Echeverri plays as a winger at River Plate, but he has the possibility of playing down the middle. Echeverri has the nickname “El Diablito” in reference to former Bolivian and DC United star Marco Etcheverry due to a similar playing style.
