Manchester City are reportedly hopeful of beating the likes of Real Madrid and PSG to the signature of Argentina wonderkid Claudio Echeverri.
The 17-year-old River Plate attacking midfield starlet has already been dubbed 'the next Lionel Messi' – and his stock rose considerably thanks to his performances at the recent U17 World Cup in Indonesia.
Barcelona and Juventus are also said to be keeping tabs on Echeverri – who has already been a champion of Argentina with River, where he signed his first professional contract aged just 16.
However, according to the Mirror, City might have an edge over those other European giants: they relationship they fostered with River through signing Julian Alvarez.
Alvarez joined Pep Guardiola's men for £14m in January last year but remained on loan in Buenos Aires until the summer – before making a near-immediate impact at the Etihad Stadium and going on to star in Argentina's 2022 World Cup triumph.
Echeverri currently has a release clause of around £21m – although that rises to around £25m within 10 days of the end of any transfer window (the January transfer window closes on 1 February).
River are thought to be scrambling to double the value of that clause, though (not that £42m would come anywhere near the highest fee City have ever paid for a player).
Echeverri really caught the eye when his hat-trick saw Argentina beat arch-rivals Brazil in the quarter-finals of the U17 World Cup.
He finished the tournament – where the Argentines came fourth, losing to Mali in the third place play-off – with five goals in total; only River teammate Agustin Ruberto scored more.
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