Echeverri gives Guardiola 'selection headache'

City's affinity with attacking players from Argentina has seen some go down in the club's record books.

Sergio Aguero provided the most memorable and dramatic moment of their first Premier League title success, Carlos Tevez famously moved to the club having previously played for rivals Manchester United, while Julian Alvarez's £81m transfer to Atletico Madrid is their most expensive sale.

Guardiola may now have a future star on his hands in teenager Echeverri, who hails from the South American country that produced footballing greats Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona.

Echeverri signed for City in January 2024 but remained at River Plate on loan for another year and was given a surprise debut as a substitute in May's FA Cup final defeat by Crystal Palace.

The 19-year-old played only 45 minutes of City's rout on Sunday, but caught the eye with a sublime free-kick on his first start for the club.

"Since he arrived and [in] the three or four months with us, at the end of training sessions he was practising free-kicks with the goalkeeper, wall and alone," Guardiola said.

"The other ones did not practise. He was practising and practising and the work pays off. Fantastic goal and incredible player."

Guardiola has made clear he wants to work with a smaller squad. The out-of-favour trio of Jack Grealish, Kyle Walker and Kalvin Phillips appear to have no futures at the club, while James McAtee was not selected for the trip.

The City boss wants to further trim his playing personnel from the 27 that are currently in the United States, but Echeverri may have given his manager a headache about whether to keep him with the squad this season or sanction a loan move.