Director of Football quizzed on Manchester City transfer interest at Birmingham Airport | OneFootball

Reported interest in Manchester City’s Claudio Echeverri was put directly to the Director of Football at AS Roma this week, according to new reports.

Echeverri was confirmed as a Manchester City player in January 2024 but was loaned back to River Plate for the rest of the calendar year – a strategy previously used to secure the arrival of Atletico Madrid and Argentina forward Julian Alvarez from River Plate.

As Pep Guardiola grappled with a difficult injury crisis midway through the recent campaign, Manchester City welcomed Echeverri to England as the 19-year-old attacking midfielder joined into the first-team squad amidst a period of struggle for the Blues.

City endured their worst run of league form in over 15 years in the fall of 2024, which effectively ruled them out of the race for the Premier League title as Guardiola rallied his group through what was an inevitable yet shocking dip in performance and fitness from one of the greatest sides in the history of England football.

Guardiola stuck to his guns and leaned on his trusted confidantes as he navigated the difficult season, with the likes of Echeverri given time to settle in and adapt to life at Manchester City, which is often the case with new arrivals from South America.

However, Echeverri was given a surprise debut off the bench when Guardiola called upon the Argentine teenager to change the game as Manchester City sought inspiration in attack late on to overturn a one-goal deficit in their FA Cup final defeat to Crystal Palace in May.

In an impressive cameo, Echeverri found himself in some great positions, took initiative and had a presentable chance to level proceedings saved by Dean Henderson – an effort that would have made for a historic first-team debut on the greatest stage of English football for the starlet, had it gone in.

Echeverri impressed at the FIFA Club World Cup in June, notably firing in a brilliant free-kick in Lionel Messi fashion in City’s 6-0 drubbing of Al Ain in their group-stage clash. AS Roma and CFG-owned Girona are understood to be keen on taking Echeverri on loan next season, with a direct route into City’s first-team difficult to imagine for the teenager at present.

The midfielder has trained with the squad in pre-season as club bosses deliberate on a loan destination for Echeverri for the 2025-26 campaign that would progress the youngster’s development and give him access to regular first-team football.

As translated and relayed by Sport Witness, both Forza Roma and Solo La Roma have covered a brief chat with AS Roma’s director of football Frederic Massara as he arrived at Birmingham Airport ahead of his club’s pre-season friendly clash with Aston Villa.

“(Claudio] Echeverri? I’m not talking about the market,” he is quoted as saying when the subject of the Manchester City prospect was put to him.

A separate write-up on the interaction details the exchanges as going, “Any news on Echeverri?” before Massara responded,”None” – a response described as being very hasty and a clear attempt to avoid pulling any interest away from the club’s warm-up fixture.