Man City have entered the race to sign River Plate centre-back Lautaro Rivero, according to reports in Argentina.
It has been claimed over the past week that the likes of Chelsea, Tottenham and Atletico Madrid are interested in signing the 21-year-old.
However, El Intransigente say that the Cityzens have been making concrete steps to snap up Rivero ahead of their rivals.
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“Preliminary contacts” are said to have taken place between the Manchester club and the defender’s entourage to discuss personal terms.
What do fans need to know about Rivero?
The centre-half is the latest product of River Plate’s academy, but he made his senior debut whilst out on loan at Central Cordoba in June 2024.
Rivero went on to make 30 appearances across all competitions before returning to River Plate last summer. He made his first appearance for the club’s first team against Independiente back in August.
The defender was also called up by Argentina in the last international break, with head coach Lionel Scaloni handing him his first cap against Puerto Rico as a second-half substitute on Tuesday.
Man City will hope to repeat the success they had with Alvarez
The Cityzens and River Plate have a longstanding relationship which goes back several years. Striker Julian Alvarez made the switch to the Etihad from the Argentinian club for £14m in the January 2022 transfer window.
Alvarez had two successful seasons in Manchester prior to his sale to Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2024.
Claudio Echeverri also took the same path as Alvarez, having officially joined City from River Plate in January 2024 before moving to Bayer Leverkusen on loan six months later.
When it comes to Rivero, it is not known whether he would join City straight away or move to another City Football Group team, but there is a good chance that a deal can be struck.
Read more about the Man City First Team Squad for 2025/26 here