Claudio Echeverri future: Three potential destinations for Man City ace after Bayer Leverkusen confirm loan termination

Bayer Leverkusen head coach Kasper Hjulmand has confirmed that Claudio Echeverri’s loan from Manchester City will be terminated and the attacker has already played his final game for the club.

The highly-rated 19-year-old departed the Etihad Stadium on a temporary basis in the summer in the hope of gaining regular first-team football in a top-five European league for a Leverkusen side considered as one of the strongest in the Bundesliga.

However, Echeverri has been limited to just 270 minutes across 11 appearances for Leverkusen in all competition, starting just three of those games and registering only one assist.

Leverkusen’s start to the campaign was disrupted by the dismissal of Erik ten Hag after just three competitive matches and the arrival of new boss Hjulmand offered little benefit to Echeverri, who has been left frustrated by his lack of game time.

The decision has now been made by both Leverkusen and Man City for Echeverri to return to the Etihad where his future will be assessed ahead of the January transfer window.

Echeverri will return to Man City after Leverkusen loan terminated

Echeverri will not be available to play for Leverkusen in Saturday’s Bundesliga clash away against RB Leipzig, as confirmed by Hjulmand at his press conference on Friday.

“We’ve made the decision together with Manchester City that he will return,” Hjulmand told reporters. “As a result, he won’t be in the squad. This was decided over the past few days.”

He added: “I think Claudio is a great player and I have a lot of trust in him and his development, but we have a lot of players in his position. It's really difficult to give minutes to everyone.

“He has trained well and is a great kid, there has been no problem with him. He has huge potential, but it simply wasn’t possible to give him more playing time here."

It remains to be seen what the future holds for Echeverri, who has seen his hopes of sneaking into the Argentina squad for the 2026 World Cup fade away in recent months due to his lack of regular football.

Girona, River Plate ‘keen’ to sign Man City’s Echeverri

As things stand, it appears that there are three realistic destinations for Echeverri in the second half of the campaign, with journalist Fabrizio Romano claiming that both Girona and River Plate are keen to sign the teenage talent.

Man City’s sister club Girona attempted to sign Echeverri in the summer, but the decision was made for the attacker to test himself in Germany at a club competing for silverware, rather than battling to avoid relegation.

Echeverri was signed by Man City for £12.5m from boyhood club River Plate in January 2024 and it has previously been reported that the attacker has informed his family and representatives that he would like to return to the club where he rose to stardom.

However, Echeverri has been warned by Man City expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany that he can ‘write off his City career’ if he returns to Argentina, telling Sports Mole that it would be a “horrifically bad” decision to re-join River Plate.

Another option that Echeverri may consider is staying at Man City for the second half of the season and attempting to force his way into Pep Guardiola’s plans, though this is less likely as regular first-team appearances would not be guaranteed, unless a serious injury crisis emerged.

Man City are believed to be in the market for a new attacker next month, with Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo said to be one of their leading targets.

Echeverri has made just three senior appearances for Man City since joining the club, scoring one goal in a group-stage win at the FIFA Club World Cup in the summer.