Echeverri faces another loan exit after struggling at Leverkusen and Girona

Claudio Echeverri is facing a pivotal summer at Manchester City, with another loan move looking the most probable outcome after a difficult 12 months that saw the 20-year-old struggle for regular minutes at both Bayer Leverkusen and Girona.

The Argentine arrived at the Etihad in January 2025 to considerable excitement, and Pep Guardiola fast-tracked him into the FA Cup final squad at Wembley, handing him a debut off the bench against Crystal Palace ahead of more experienced options. Echeverri then underlined his potential by scoring a superb free kick at the Club World Cup before injury cut his tournament short.

His subsequent loan to Leverkusen, however, never took off. Echeverri managed just six Bundesliga appearances, and Guardiola’s public comments in November hinted at frustration with how the move had unravelled. Asked whether City might recall him in January, the City manager offered a pointed response: “It is a question for his beautiful agent.”

The loan was eventually cancelled by mutual consent, with neither club satisfied. City then sent Echeverri to Girona — the club that had originally been their preferred destination for him the previous summer — where he made 17 La Liga appearances. The increased game time was welcome, but he was unable to cement a place in the starting XI, and his form was not enough to earn a call-up to Argentina’s World Cup squad.

Echeverri will return to City for pre-season and could feature during a summer tour of Asia, with a large number of senior players away at the World Cup. That window offers him a genuine opportunity to make an impression on Guardiola, but the expectation is that another loan will follow — one that City and the player will be hoping is better matched to his needs than the spell in Germany.

At 20, Echeverri still has time to fulfil the promise that persuaded City to sign him, but the next move will need to be the right one if his career at the club is to gain meaningful momentum.