Manchester City are sanctioning another loan exit for highly-rated attacking midfielder Claudio Echeverri, this time with an option to buy, according to new reports.
Manchester City's chief attacking midfielder Rayan Cherki
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Signing at the Etihad Stadium in January 2024, Claudio Echeverri joined Pep Guardiola's side from his boyhood club River Plate on a four-and-a-half year contract, remaining in Argentina on loan for the remainder of the season after a £12.5 million transfer.
Joining in January 2025, Echeverri would make his debut for Manchester City in the FA Cup Final against Crystal Palace, before going on to make his Premier League debut for the club on the final day of the season in a 0-2 win over Fulham.
Scoring his first goal for Manchester City in a 6-0 win over Al Ain at the FIFA Club World Cup in June 2025, officials at the Etihad would then sanction a loan move to German club Bayer Leverkusen for the 2025/26 campaign.
However, after a difficult time in the Bundesliga, Claudio Echeverri would be moved to Girona for the remainder of the 2025/26 season, with his longer-term future assessed and seemingly decided upon by director of football Hugo Viana this summer.
Echeverri set for Benfica loan move
Now, according to Tribuna.com's Cesar Luis Merlo, Claudio Echeverri is set to join Portuguese giants Benfica on a one-year loan deal from Manchester City, in an agreement that also includes an option to buy.
Additional reporting from Fabrizio Romano details that Benfica will also be covering 100 per cent of the Argentine midfielder's Manchester City salary for the duration of the one-year loan agreement, whilst a buy option has also been confirmed.
This is a developing story. More to follow.