River Plate are hoping that Jhon Solis’ transfer to Birmingham City will fall through, so they can get Claudio Echeverri from Manchester City.
El Intransigente in Argentina provide the details today.
They explain that the Argentine side are continuing to be active on the transfer market, with Marcelo Gallardo determined to add to his squad.
They have been negotiating to buy Maher Carrizo and Santino Andino, but both want to move to Europe. That’s led them to make a last attempt for Echeverri, according to journalist Silvio Chattas on TyC Sports.
“River Plate will make one last attempt to sign Claudio Echeverri,” he said.
That news comes as something of a surprise, given Echeverri has recently arrived in Spain to join Girona on loan from Manchester City. He was previously at Bayer Leverkusen, but that was cancelled early.
Birmingham City transfer collapse would help River Plate
However, the winger is yet to be formally presented by the Spanish club. That is where Birmingham City’s move for Solis comes into the picture.
“Girona currently has no foreign player slots available to register Echeverri and is negotiating the departure of Jhon Solis, something they’ve been trying to finalise for several days without success. Meanwhile, River Plate will enquire about acquiring Echeverri,” added journalist Germán García Grova.
“Claudio Echeverri will stand firm against Manchester City. He’s going to make his position clear to City, saying, ‘I’ll play for River or City,’” concluded Flavio Azzaro.
So, to sum up, River Plate are going to make one last shot at getting Echeverri. They’ve been after him for a while. And they’re hoping that Solis’ move to Birmingham City collapses, thus blocking Echeverri from joining Girona.
That will then allow River to get Echeverri, who, it seems, fancies the move to River Plate as well. That’s only if the Girona move isn’t finalised, though.