Olympique de Marseille are looking for a number 10 during the winter transfer window and Claudio Echeverri, on loan at Bayer Leverkusen, should return to Manchester City in January 2026 to leave immediately. What if the Argentine arrived at OM?
Recruited for €18.5m (£15.8m) in January 2025 by the Citizens, the young player (19 years old) joined Bayer Leverkusen during the summer transfer window, on a one-year loan. Except that the situation is not optimal in Germany, and Claudio Echeverri has not had the expected playing time - only 10 appearances, three starts, one goal, one assist. Recently, Pep Guardiola publicly criticised the gem's agent for his choice to send him on loan abroad.
For their part, OM will be active in the winter transfer window, notably in the central attacking midfield position. Why not try their luck with the Citizens' prodigy?
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According to information from journalist Hugo Balassone, five options present themselves to Claudio Echeverri. A return to River Plate is in the pipeline, whilst "two Spanish teams and one Premier League team" are following the Argentine. Moreover, Girona, affiliated with Manchester City, is another option. But why not Olympique de Marseille?
The mutual respect and good relationship between Roberto De Zerbi and Pep Guardiola could facilitate the operation leading to a six-month loan in Marseille. Manchester City could certainly be won over by the prospect of sending a club prodigy to a renowned European manager, who practises a game based on possession, movement and technique, of whom his coach thinks and speaks very highly.
Moreover, and this is not to be overlooked, OM are still in contention in the Champions League, and are playing a leading role in Ligue 1 (third). Difficult to offer a more competitive sporting environment for Claudio Echeverri after the Bayer Leverkusen failure, whilst Marseille are moreover not a competitor for Manchester City in Europe.
On the Ligue 1 third-placed side's side, the recruitment of a central attacking midfielder appears required during winter, whilst Matt O'Riley and Angel Gomes, the most attacking of OM's midfielders, have not (yet) established themselves this season. The former has not started for six consecutive matches, whilst the latter was replaced at half-time during the last match against Toulouse (2-2), and was overtaken by young Darryl Bakola (17 years old) against Newcastle (2-1). And for his first career start, the Frenchman provided an assist. Which is an indirect blow dealt to Angel Gomes and Matt O'Riley.
For Roberto De Zerbi, the number 10 is essential
In an interview with RMC in 2021, the Italian coach, freshly arrived at Shakhtar Donetsk, highlighted the essential importance of a playmaker in his system.
"I think my teams cannot play without at least one number 10. If you look at my teams, there are at least two or three number 10s together. There are several types of number 10. There's the one who builds play from a bit deeper like Maxime Lopez, Stefano Sensi and Manuel Locatelli, but there are also the wide 10s like Domenico Berardi who starts from the right side or also Djuricic who is another form of 10. I don't think about the number 10 in terms of positioning on the pitch, but rather on a psychological level, on his intuitions. At Sassuolo, we sometimes fielded five players who can be described as number 10s, but with different characteristics. And at Shakhtar, it's the same. I have Solomon, Mudryk, Alan Patrick, Pedrinho, Tete, Marlos. They're all number 10s in my vision of the game. They don't all have the same profile. For example, Alan Patrick is more of a builder, a geometrician on the pitch, where Pedrinho is more Djuricic, Tete is more Berardi, Solomon is more Boga. They're all high-quality players who add unpredictability to the team."
Claudio Echeverri, a promising young talent who excels in the central playmaker position and can play on the left, is looking for a new club this winter. OM are themselves looking for a new number 10, Roberto De Zerbi needs one and, for all the reasons presented, the Marseille club appear as the ideal destination for the Argentine.
This article was originally published on Top Mercato.