Claudio Echeverri subject to ‘relentless push’ from Italian giants as Manchester City prepare transfer decision | OneFootball

Manchester City may be feeling increasing pressure from the side of Claudio Echeverri himself this summer as the Argentine eyes his next step in senior European football.

The 19-year-old arrived from River Plate in January and has since made a handful of promising appearances under Pep Guardiola, including a goal at the FIFA Club World Cup earlier in thes summer and a bright cameo at Wembley in the FA Cup Final.

With game time at the Etihad Stadium expected to remain limited during the upcoming season, both Manchester City and the player have seemingly agreed on the importance of a loan, but not on where that should be at this current stage.

As previously reported, City are keen for Echeverri to join Girona for the 2025/26 campaign, following in the footsteps of other City Football Group prospects such as Savinho and Yan Couto among others from across their network of clubs.

The La Liga side offers tactical alignment with the City model, guaranteed development oversight, and first-team minutes in Spain’s top flight. Yet, as claimed earlier this month, Echeverri and his entourage are reportedly unenthusiastic about the proposal, instead targeting a club competing in either the UEFA Champions League or Europa League.

The teenager’s desire to test himself on the continental stage has opened the door to outside interest, and AS Roma are now making that interest increasingly difficult for Manchester City to ignore.

According to Il Tempo’s Filippo Biafora, Roma have been eyeing a move for City’s Claudio Echeverri for ‘a couple of weeks’, with the Argentine now the primary target to complete the Italian club’s attack for the upcoming season.

It is claimed that the side from the Italian capital are ‘relentlessly pushing forward with their efforts’ to convince Manchester City into an agreement, while the Premier League side remain unwilling to accept anything other than a straight loan for the highly-rated midfielder.

The Giallorossi have presented their project to the player, who has given an unequivocal yes to a move to Rome and is publicly signaling his preference for a move to Italy over a loan move to Girona, City’s preferred option. Work on the project, despite considerable difficulty, is progressing.

This latest development represents a shift in dynamic from City controlling the loan narrative to now having to respond to external pressure, both from Roma and the player himself. While Roma’s lack of inclusion in the City Football Group network complicates oversight and guarantees, their status as a top-tier club with European ambitions could make them a suitable platform for Echeverri’s next phase of growth.

Manchester City will need to carefully balance their developmental philosophy with player satisfaction. Turning down Roma could risk souring relations with Echeverri, who is eager to compete at the highest levels of European football.

However, agreeing to a loan without ironclad assurances on senior minutes, a suitable tactical role, and positional development would run counter to the club’s established youth progression model.

In the coming days, all eyes will be on how flexible City are willing to be; should Roma continue their aggressive pursuit and formally match requirements, a move to Serie A could become a genuine possibility. If not, Girona may remain the fallback, even if that risks sending a player out on loan to a destination he is not fully convinced by.