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Manchester City midfielder Claudio Echeverri is on loan at Leverkusen but is struggling for minutes and didn't play at all on Tuesday
Bayer Leverkusen manager Kasper Hjulmand talked up the potential in Claudio Echeverri but could not rule out a January return to Manchester City. The 19-year-old was back at the Etihad for the Champions League game on Tuesday night but was an unused substitute as the German side picked up a 2-0 win.
Echeverri has had to get used to being on the bench this season, despite having been given the No.9 shirt when he signed on a season-long loan that he hoped would confirm his place in the Argentina squad for the 2026 World Cup. Instead, he has barely had a kick under first Erik Ten Hag and then Hjulmand, with more experienced players preferred in the positions that he wants to play.
That was also the case on Tuesday, despite Echeverri and fellow youngster Eliesse Ben Seghir being called over by the Leverkusen coach at a point in the first half to make them aware of a potential situation they could help in. "They are doing good and they are very good players. I am trying to prepare the players for the scenarios of the game. We did it before," said Hjulmand.
"There were some very clear structures in the game at that moment and I wanted them to recognise this and be ready for those scenarios. When we play like this with three midfielders and two strikers it's not their normal positions so I have to prepare them a little for that but at the end of the day I thought the players on the pitch were doing very well.
"Patrik [Schick] was suffering a little but was so important in set pieces so this time I said we will stick to the players on the pitch but it's two very good players with big potential. Very young players. Their time will come. They play a position where we have the most players so there is a lot of competition for these players but their time will come."
City have been frustrated that Echeverri's time has not come sooner at Leverkusen, particularly having had lots of interest from clubs interested in taking him for the summer. Girona's sporting director said last month that they had wanted the midfielder but that his agent had preferred the Leverkusen move, and Guardiola took a couple of swipes at the player's representatives when asked about his future on Monday.
There have been concerns for months at the Etihad over the lack of minutes for Echeverri and a recall is a possibility if the situation does not improve. Asked about that after his side's victory, Hjulmand indicated that they have had to be careful with the Argentine's fitness to ensure he is robust enough for regular minutes, but that there are plenty of positives.
"We like Claudio, we are happy to have Claudio. When he arrived to us he had only played 110 minutes the whole year," he said "He had problems when he started his first match, we are trying to build a young player with great potential. We like Claudio, we like him in the dressing room, we like him on the pitch. We can see potential in Claudio. Let's see."
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