Sport
Who is Man City’s new wonderkid, Claudio Echeverri, and why has he been dubbed ‘the next Messi’?
The next Álvarez? Or better yet, the next Messi?
It’s been a relatively quiet January transfer window across the board, as it can often be for many teams, but Manchester City has completed another bit of exciting business as they officially announced the signing of so-called ‘wonderkid’ Claudio Echeverri — but who is he?
The 18-year-old attacking midfielder’s move from Argentine giants River Plate was confirmed on Thursday, 25 January, with Man City confirming that he will be loaned straight back to the club until this time next year.
Operating as an attacking midfielder, it’s fair to say that not only do the Blues have plenty of stars that play in the position but any new signing, no matter how senior, would struggle to find their way into that well-oiled machined.
Being given a contract until 2028 on a deal worth around £12.5 million plus add-ons despite only just turning 18, it’s fair to say City are putting a lot of faith in the highly-promising prospect but why exactly is he being so highly thought of at such a young age?
For starters, it’s worth noting that some of his closest admirers have dubbed him ‘the next Lionel Messi‘, and not just because he’s young and a fellow compatriot.
Playing in an advanced role and predominantly as a classic number 10, the parallels are obvious and given his calmness and composure in front of goal, it didn’t take long for fans and pundits to turn the marriage of nationality, position, goalscoring and a fair amount of skill into the excitable comparison.
With a penchant for dribbling and having already captained Argentina’s youth side to the semi-finals of the U17 World Cup late last year, he’s already had a taster of having the weight of a nation’s hopes on his shoulders in some capacity. That’s the kind of character that should take to the Premier League well.
Scoring nine in six across the tournament, he bagged a hattrick in the quarters against Brazil before they lost on penalties to Germany, earning himself the chance to train with the first-team squad on a number of occasions.
At club level, despite only making six senior appearances for River Plate, he’s already won two trophies with them — the Argentine Primera Division and the Trofeo de Campeones — registering an assist within just four cameo appearances coming off the bench.
Speaking to Sky Sports, South American football expert Tim Vickery, made another key comparison, stating that “Echeverri is taking a similar path as Julián Álvarez: River Plate and Argentina to Manchester City and England – but with significant differences.
“Alvarez went at the age of 22 as a consolidated Argentina international and as the best player in Argentine football.
“Echeverri has only just turned 18 and we’ve hardly seen him in senior Argentine football. Just six games with most of those off the substitutes’ bench. It’s the same journey but with a very different route map.”
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Going on to caveat that although dubbing him the next Messi might be getting carried away at this stage, he did insist that the youngster’s “promise is huge”, highlighting his “real pace and changes of pace, changes of rhythm, real knowledge of where to hurt the opposition and attacking space”, in particular.
The consensus seems to be that he’s Claudio Echeverri is definitely one of the future and potentially a talent to build around in the long term and, thankfully, his loan move straight back to his previous club will allow him to keep playing more regular football just as Álvarez did before arriving at the Etihad.
With Kalvin Phillips having just been loaned to West Ham from City in search of minutes after missing valuable months due to being simply kept out by such a wealth of talent in the middle of the park, Pep Guardiola and his staff certainly won’t want to risk a similar situation.
One thing’s for sure, he’s definitely one to keep an eye on.
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Featured Images — Man City/Claudio Echeverri/Argentine National Team (via Instagram)
Sport
Tragedy as two superbike riders die in ‘catastrophic accident’ at Cheshire event
Daisy Jackson
Two riders have tragically died in a ‘chain reaction’ accident at a superbike race in Cheshire.
Owen Jenner, 21, and Shane Richardson, 29, both died of their injuries following a crash involving 11 riders.
The ‘catastrophic accident’ occurred yesterday at the Quattro Group British Supersport Championship superbike race at Oulton Park in Cheshire.
The race was immediately stopped so that trackside medical services could attend to the 11 riders who had fallen.
Due to the ‘extreme severity’ of the incident, the rest of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship event was cancelled.
Two riders lost their lives and another has sustained significant injuries and remains in hospital.
Owen Jenner, 21 years old, was treated trackside and taken to the circuit medical centre , but died from a catastrophic head injury.
Meanwhile Shane Richardson was taken to Royal Stoke University Hospital with severe chest injuries, but died prior to arrival.
Another rider, 47-year-old Tom Tunstall, has also been transferred to hospital with significant back and abdominal injuries.
Five further riders were transferred to the circuit medical centre with minor injuries – the remaining involved riders were uninjured.
The Motorcycle Circuit Racing Control Board and MotorSport Vision Racing are investigating the full circumstances of the incident in conjunction with the Coroner and Cheshire Constabulary.
Cheshire Police said in a statement: “Police are investigating two deaths on behalf of the coroner following a multiple collision at Oulton Park this afternoon (Monday 5 May).
“Emergency services were called to the scene following the collision which resulted in two riders being fatally injured and another with serious injuries.
“Due to the severity of the incident and ongoing medical intervention, the remainder of the event was cancelled.
“The two riders who sadly died have been named as Owen Jenner (21) and Shane Richardson (29).”
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Featured image: British Superbikes
Sport
Ole Gunnar Solskjær says just three players have spoken to him since leaving Manchester United
Danny Jones
Club legend and ex-Manchester United player turned manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjær, has revealed that just three of his former players have been in touch since leaving Old Trafford.
Solskjær was sacked from the role as Man United head coach back in November 2021 after having been given the job permanently following an impressive winning run as interim manager.
The practically perfect start back at the helm of the club – where he starred as the ‘super sub’ during his playing days – was followed by a big slump, and the final decision was ultimately made in the wake of a 4-1 loss to Watford.
However, the ‘Baby-Faced Assassin’s’ popularity among the players and the fans alike was never in question, so it’s come as somewhat of a surprise to many fans that Solskjær has said only a specific trio of United players have got in touch with him since his dream job came to an end.
At least two of the names read out might not surprise fans, as not only was then-club captain Harry Maguire one of his first statement signings, but so was Bruno Fernandes, who now has the armband, and both have remained key players and leadership figures pretty much ever since.
Speaking to BBC Sport on the senior duo, Ole said, “For me, Harry has always been a leader and a fighter”, and never had any doubts about him deputising for him on the pitch, before going on to label both the centre-back and Bruno as “top human beings.”
As for the third, although Victor Lindelöf looks set to leave the club this summer, he’s actually been a long-serving squad member, having joined back in 2017 and been a seemingly popular figure around the dressing room, even if injury problems have sometimes hampered his minutes.
He also went on to discuss other matters regarding the club, including confessing that it’s “hard to watch” United amidst their present struggles, both under previous manager Erik ten Hag and now Ruben Amorim – even with a potential Europa League trophy consolation on the cards.
The retired striker also stated that he found the decision to let midfielder Scott McTominay go more than surprising, especially given the incredible performances he’s put on display since moving to Serie A.
Now the boss at Besiktas, the 52-year-old has won 50% of his games so far, with the Turkish side on course for a third-place finish.
For context, he only took the job back in January.
What did you make of Ole’s revelations then, Reds? And, more importantly, how do you look back on his time in charge at the Theatre of Dreams?
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Featured Images — soccer.ru (via Wikimedia Commons)/BBC Sport
