AS Roma star distances himself from transfer speculation on Manchester City forward | OneFootball

AS Roma and Argentina winger Matías Soulé has discussed a potential compatriot reunion with Manchester City teenager Claudio Echeverri in the Serie A.

Echeverri, 19, was signed by Manchester City from River Plate in January 2024 and loaned back to the South American side for another 12 months, with the 19-year-old only arriving in Manchester at the start of the calendar year.

Pep Guardiola allowed the Argentine sensation a few months to embed into life in England, get accustomed to Manchester City training and understand the club’s style of play, with Echeverri only making a surprise senior debut in the FA Cup final.

City called upon Echeverri over record signing Jack Grealish to come off the bench and help overturn a one-goal deficit in the final against Crystal Palace, with the teenager squandering a huge chance to level but nevertheless impressing on the biggest stage of English football.

Manchester City have undergone a significant squad shuffle this summer under the stewardship of newly-appointed director of football, with all of Kevin De Bruyne, Scott Carson and Kyle Walker shown the door.

Jack Grealish is set to complete a season-long loan to Everton this week, with James McAtee also nearing a permanent transfer to Nottingham Forest as talks progress over a fee and sell-on clause for the England U-21 captain.

Pep Guardiola has urged the Manchester City board to trim his squad between now and the closing of the transfer window on September 1, with January signing Vitor Reis also completing a season-long loan to CFG-owned Girona last week.

Echeverri impressed at the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States in June, scoring a stunning free-kick in a 6-0 drubbing of Al-Ain, but is also expected to complete a loan move for the 2025-26 campaign for regular first-team minutes elsewhere.

AS Roma is understood to be Echeverri’s preference for a loan move, though Manchester City have made it clear they would prefer the Argentinian to follow in the footsteps of Reis and sign for Girona, who are also interested in taking Sverre Nypan on loan for the coming season.

Speaking to Il Tempo, AS Roma and Argentina star Matías Soulé was asked for an update on a possible reunion with his compatriot Echeverri at Roma, who have been heavily linked with a swoop for the Manchester City youngster.

“I just asked him (Echeverri) how he was, but I really don’t know anything about the transfer market,” said Soule, as quoted by Sport Witness.

“I hadn’t spoken to him (Echeverri) in a while and now he’s replied to me on Instagram, but honestly, I don’t know anything. He didn’t ask me for advice on Rome or Roma.”