Claudio Echeverri arrived in Lisbon on Tuesday night ahead of completing his move away from Manchester City.
The 20-year-old landed after 11pm and is set to join Benfica on loan until the end of the season. Record confirmed the agreement includes an option to buy.
There’s been no official announcement yet, but Echeverri himself made clear that should be the next step.
Speaking after his arrival on Tuesday night, the Argentine said he expected to sign on Wednesday. That would then clear the way for Benfica and Manchester City to make the transfer official.
Echeverri spoke to Manchester City pair
Echeverri arrived in Portugal clearly happy with the move and revealed some of the conversations behind his decision. His first contact was with Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni, his compatriot and someone he already knows well.
“Yes, he was the first person I spoke to,” Echeverri said. “I’m very happy to be here and to have received his message.”
“I can’t say much, so hopefully tomorrow I can sign and everything goes well.”
The Manchester City youngster had also been in contact with his new manager, Marco Silva.
“Yes, I also spoke with the manager. I’m very happy to be here,” he said.
Echeverri then revealed he’d sought advice from two Manchester City teammates who know Benfica particularly well.
“I also spoke with Rúben Dias at City and with Bernardo Silva, so I’m very happy to be here.”
Both came through Benfica before eventually ending up at Manchester City, so Echeverri had two useful sources of information close at hand.
Why Echeverri chose Benfica
The 20-year-old was also reminded of the Argentine players who have represented Benfica. Pablo Aimar, Javier Saviola, Nicolás Otamendi and Ángel Di María were mentioned to him at the airport.
“Very important players have played for this great club, Benfica, and hopefully I can repeat what they did,” Echeverri said.
“I hope I can help the team win trophies, because Benfica deserve it. They’re the biggest team in Portugal and I hope I can help.”
He was then asked directly about his decision to join Benfica and what attracted him to Portuguese football.
“I chose Benfica because, as I said before, they’re the biggest club in Portugal and one of the most important teams in Europe as well,” he said.
“I know that I can grow a lot here and that’s what I hope to do. Now I hope I can help the team.”
Loan with option to buy
Record’s information also brings some clarity over the structure of the Manchester City deal.
We covered that Benfica were closing in on a season-long loan with an option to buy. Then we brought an update that an obligation to buy or even an immediate permanent transfer had entered discussions.
With Echeverri now in Lisbon, Record says the final arrangement is a loan until the end of the season with an option to buy.
That means Manchester City retain control over the youngster for now, although Benfica will have a route to making his stay permanent.
For Echeverri, the immediate priority is getting the move formally completed and starting the next stage of his development.
The announcement is the final piece still missing.