Manchester City target Claudio Echeverri has declared that he wants to follow in the footsteps of his idol Lionel Messi and play for Barcelona.

It was reported earlier this month that both the Cityzens and Chelsea are pursuing the River Plate midfielder but, when asked where he could see himself playing in the future, the teenager replied:

“Besides River, I’d mention Barcelona. I’m a big Leo Messi fan and I used to watch him playing for Barça when I was a kid.”

Both City and Chelsea are believed to be keeping close tabs on Echeverri (who has been compared to Messi), after he stood out at the Under 17 World Cup last month.

He captained Argentina at the tournament, scoring 5 goals (including a hat-trick against Brazil) before his team were knocked out by Germany at the semi-final stage.

Echeverri has made his senior debut at club level recently

As well as impressing for his country, the 17-year-old has also made his first appearance for River Plate this year, coming on as a substitute and providing an assist in a 3-1 win over Instituto SC back in June.

Since then, Echeverri has played 4 more times, featuring in league fixtures against CA Colon, Rosario Central (twice) and Racing Club.

City will still be hopeful of securing the midfielder’s signature

Despite Echeverri expressing his preference for Barcelona, City are said to be in a good position to sign the youngster.

The Premier League champions have an excellent relationship with River Plate, having signed Julian Alvarez from the same club a couple of years ago. Of course, there are still plenty of other factors that will decide who Echeverri will end up signing for. One of those is the price tag.

Reports suggest that River Plate may sell the Argentinian youth international for around €25m (£21.5m), which you wouldn’t see as being an issue for City. It may, though, be enough to put off Barca.