Pep Guardiola spoke after the defeat to Liverpool of the bright future at Manchester City despite the dark days of recent months.
City have seen their Premier League defence, Champions League ambitions and Carabao Cup hopes go up in smoke over the course of 14 defeats in their last 27 games. The FA Cup and Club World Cup offer routes to silverware this season but attention is already turning to the future.
City started the process in the January transfer window with a flurry of signings. Omar Marmoush and Nico Gonzalez can be considered players for the here and now but also with the potential to develop and grow while Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis can be long term defensive options.
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And then there is Claudio Echeverri. Signed more than a year ago but now finally part of the City squad after a 12-month loan back at former club River Plate and a month spent with Argentina in the prestigious Under-20 South American Championship. That yielded a series of impressive showings but only a second place finish to Brazil.
Excitement has built around Echeverri's arrival with the talented teenager backed for a bright future. City want to assess his level over the next few months as they weigh up the best path for him next season. There is a possibility that he could remain with Guardiola and the first team squad, as Julian Alvarez did following his move in 2022, although the expectation is that he will head to Europe on loan next season.
The attacking midfielder will train with his new team-mates on Thursday and could feature in the FA Cup tie against Plymouth Argyle on Saturday. While throwing the youngster in on limited training time would be a big ask of the Argentine, Echeverri is likely to have a prominent role to play at City in the coming years and a home game against a struggling Championship side represents a chance to offer him minutes from the bench.
As Guardiola said last weekend, "I saw a bright future." Echeverri could very much be part of it.
