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Manchester City midfielder Claudio Echeverri has impressed since arriving at the club in February and is yet to find a loan move
Whatever happens, Claudio Echeverri's career at Manchester City will always be extraordinary. There can't be many players in the game whose debut in English football has come in the FA Cup Final.
There were hopes that Echeverri could feature before the end of last season when he arrived at the club in February, but after three months without making a matchday squad nobody expected what would transpire at Wembley. First, he was included in the group ahead of the likes of James McAtee and then he came on in the second half ahead of - among others - Jack Grealish.
It was a lively cameo, and one that showed why he had been brought on even if it was ultimately in a losing cause. A goal direct from a free-kick in the Club World Cup against Al Ain reinforced those early impressions before an injury saw the end of his participation in the tournament.
Echeverri was only there with the squad because he had impressed in the months prior, and the same reason explains why he is still at the City Football Academy. A loan move will almost certainly happen, but he continues to catch the eye in training sessions.
"He reminds me a bit of Julian Alvarez, same type of player," said goalkeeper Stefan Ortega in June. "His finishing is incredible, he’s a really good guy, a bit shy in the beginning but I think he could help us a lot.”
The Alvarez comparison is potentially unhelpful given they are different players but they share the same eye for goal and Echeverri is on the same path from Argentinian to European football. Where Alvarez went, others now dream of following.
The major issue for Echeverri is that there is already a player in the squad who was brought in to replace Alvarez. Omar Marmoush was signed in January with the promise of the minutes and opportunities that the now-Atletico striker had at City, and made important contributions to City's Champions League qualification including the best goal anybody scored last season with his howitzer against Bournemouth.
With the drop-off in goal contributions last season, it must be tempting for Pep Guardiola to see a player with the knack that Echeverri has got. But improvement is expected from all of those around him and Marmoush is clearly ahead for a start in a team where Erling Haaland will always take one attacking spot when fit.
That is why a loan feels best for the 19-year-old, although the more he impresses in training the more expectations are raised and the need to get him the best possible loan increases.
Whatever his City career ends up looking like, Echeverri intends to make a mark somewhere this season.
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