Manchester City take on Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League on Tuesday night, and plenty of eyes will be on Claudio Echeverri.
In the summer, Manchester City took the decision to loan Echeverri to Bayer Leverkusen in the hopes of getting regular minutes into the youngster’s legs.
City letting Echeverri depart on loan didn’t sit well with some fans at the time. But he may have struggled to get regular involvement had he stayed put.
There are high hopes for Claudio Echeverri, who officially joined the club in January 2024 but stayed with River Plate on loan for a year.
Claudio Echeverri fact file
Full name: Claudio Jeremías Echeverri
Born: Resistencia, Chaco, Argentina
Age: 19 (2 January 2006)
Positions: Attacking midfield, left wing
Transfer fee Man City paid: £12.5m plus add-ons
To date, Echeverri has made three first-team appearances for City, with his debut surprisingly coming in last season’s FA Cup final against Crystal Palace. His Premier League debut followed just days later, as he came off the bench for City against Fulham.
More Man City News
Echeverri was perhaps always going to be a player Pep Guardiola spoke about ahead of the Champions League game between City and Leverkusen.
And sure enough, the Manchester City manager did comment on the Argentine on Monday lunchtime.
Pep Guardiola refuses to rule out January recall for Claudio Echeverri
Claudio Echeverri poses in a Bayer Leverkusen shirt.
Photo by INA FASSBENDER/AFP via Getty Images
Echeverri will be able to face City on Tuesday night at the Etihad Stadium under the terms of his loan to Leverkusen.
It is not the first time City have faced one of their own players in Europe, with Joao Cancelo playing against the club for Bayern Munich a few seasons ago.
But whether he takes to the pitch is another thing, with Echeverri having struggled for minutes this season.
Earlier today, Guardiola was asked about Echeverri, and the potential for him to be recalled from his loan which hasn’t gone to plan.
He said (via MEN Sport): “Always would love that players play a lot of minutes, the intention is always there, we have an incredible appreciation about him as a football player.
“I am pretty sure his agent will know everything.
“It is a question for his beautiful agent.”
How Echeverri’s loan at Bayer Leverkusen has gone
With City holding Echeverri in high esteem, there is frustration from the club about the way his loan has gone so far, and some of that annoyance was detectable in Guardiola’s answer.
Unfortunately, Echeverri hasn’t seen anywhere near the amount of minutes as City hoped he would.
So far, the South American starlet has made just eight appearances for a total of 240 minutes.
There’s been some high praise for Claudio Echeverri in the past
“Echeverri is a talent. He is a differential footballer.” – Xavi
“You can see he’s got some fire in him.” – Angel Di Maria
“He seems – to me – to be a very interesting player. I was very surprised by the personality he has.” – Carlos Tevez
“He plays football in a similar way to the way I play.” – Bernardo Silva
His one and only start in the Bundesliga came against Bayern Munich at the start of the month, with manager Kasper Hjulmand seemingly not convinced by him. He has yet to play a full 90 minutes for the club.
It seems that Echeverri’s agent may hold the key regarding a potential change in January.