'A firm stance' - Enzo Maresca blocks departure for surprise Man City star who's played just five Premier League minutes
Enzo Maresca has blocked a surprise Manchester City player's exit from the club amid the mass exodus at the Etihad Stadium.
City have let a number of players depart the club this summer, with John Stones and Bernardo Silva the first to move on after their contracts expired.
The popular pair had their farewell on the final day of the 2025/26 season along with Pep Guardiola.
Nathan Ake left for Fenerbahce early in the window but City's outgoings have accelerated with the £65 million departure of midfield metronome Rodri and Tijjani Reijnders moving to Saudi Arabia with Al Qadsiah in a £52 million switch.
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City have been further trimming the squad with a record £85 million sale of Savinho to Spurs, who are also poised to sign Omar Marmoush in a double swoop.
Maresca spoke about being open to allowing players to leave for more minutes but according to Soy del Millo, the Italian will not sanction an exit for 20-year-old Argentine prospect Claudio Echeverri.
Echeverri signed for City from River Plate in January 2024 and remained on loan for another year.
Considered to be one of the most exciting talents to come out of Argentina, his debut was in the FA Cup final loss to Crystal Palace in May 2025.
Echeverri was brought on in a shock move by Guardiola, who then gave him his only minutes in the Premier League against Fulham the following week.
After scoring in the Club World Cup that summer, Echeverri had an unproductive loan spell at Bayer Leverkusen and was recalled in the middle of the season before joining Girona in a temporary move.
The Argentina youth international has been with City for pre-season but did not feature on the bench in the Community Shield against Arsenal.
However, the report claims that Maresca has taken a "firm stance" that Echeverri is not to move on as he plans on giving him minutes this season.
River had been hopeful of bringing him back to Buenos Aires but have now conceded that a deal will not happen.
City, who open the season with a visit of Bournemouth on Sunday are still pushing for further reinforcements - with a particular focus on strengthening in midfield.
Adam Wharton, Enzo Fernandez and Ayyoub Bouaddi have all been named as targets.
Asked about frustrations about the lack of squad depth having only brought in Elliot Anderson and Geronimo Rulli so far, Maresca said: "No, I'm not worried or concerned. Since day one we've known exactly what we need and we are working together with the sporting director and the club. It's 11 days to go and many things can happen.
"We don't have minimum or maximum number. It depends a little bit. I said after the last game if we win or lose games we are not going to change our perspective to change our idea of how many we need. We know exactly what we need and how many we need and then we will see."
Topics: Enzo Maresca, Man City
Josh Lawless