The Premier League's summer transfer window closed on Tuesday night but one Manchester City deal has since been completed.
Claudio Echeverri (left) trains with Manchester City teammates Elliot Anderson (centre) and Nico O'Reilly (right)
Claudio Echeverri (left) trains with Manchester City teammates Elliot Anderson (centre) and Nico O'Reilly (right)(Image: James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images)
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Manchester City have confirmed that midfielder Claudio Echeverri has joined Benfica on a season-long loan deal. The summer transfer window in England closed at 11pm on Tuesday. However, clubs in Portugal have until Tuesday, September 15, to do their business.
This meant Echeverri's move to Benfica was in no rush to be completed. After signing for the Portuguese giants, the attacking midfielder explained Ruben Dias' role in the deal. "When I was in Manchester, I met with Ruben Dias. He also spoke very highly of Benfica. He told me it was a huge club, that the people here are really great, that it has a great atmosphere for playing, the atmosphere of a truly big club.
"And the same was true of Bernardo Silva, who is a great player who played here. For me, he’s one of the best players I’ve ever played with. And I listened to what he had to say, which made me even more certain that I wanted to come here. He said some wonderful things to me."
Echeverri made his City debut in the 2025 FA Cup final defeat to Crystal Palace and also featured in the season finale against Fulham. He would go on to score his first goal for City in the Club World Cup win over Al Ain in Atlanta.
Last season, the midfielder started the season on loan at Bayer Leverkusen but found opportunities hard to come by. He then moved to Girona in January.
Upon his return to Manchester, he joined Enzo Maresca's pre-season tour squad of Asia. He was then an unused substitute last Friday in the 4-1 victory at Palace.
City enjoyed an exciting end to the summer transfer window. Enzo Fernandez and Iliman Ndiaye arrived from Chelsea and Everton respectively with Jack Grealish moving back to Merseyside on loan.