Manchester City planning to sign South American prodigy in summer
South American football expert Tim Vickery has told talkSPORT that Manchester City have all but agreed a £17million deal to sign Argentina’s latest teenage prodigy, Dario Sarmiento.
Dario Sarmiento, 17, dubbed as the next ‘mini Lionel Messi’, burst onto the scene in 2019 in his native with Estudiantes. He has played 15 times across all competitions this season, registering an assist. The teenager has only made a handful of appearances but is on his way to Manchester City when he turns 18 in March.
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The exciting winger plies his trade for Estudiantes whose chairman is Juan Sebastien Veron—the former Manchester United midfielder. And Vickery claims Veron is relishing at the prospect of his club earning a sizeable amount of money when Sarmiento’s transfer is done to Manchester City.
"“It’s a horrible thing to say about anyone, but there’s a mini Messi in him – that’s why City have been following him,” Vickery claimed.“They can’t bring him over until the next transfer window because he doesn’t turn 18 until March.“The club president there is Juan Sebastian Veron and he’s saying it’s almost a done deal. He’s already drooling over the amount of money they can get for him.“This transfer is one they’re buying on promise – he’s already got a handful of first-team games to his name.”"
Source: talkSPORT
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is reaping rich rewards for promoting Phil Foden and Eric Garcia to the first team, while summer signing Ferran Torres has adapted to English football like a duck to water. It shows how far Manchester City have come when it comes to trusting in youth.
We have has already been left red-faced by the evolution of Jadon Sancho into one of the top footballers across Europe following his move to Borussia Dortmund a few years ago, while the likes of Rabbi Matonda and Brahim Diaz have gained prominence at Schalke and AC Milan (on loan from Real Madrid) respectively. So, Guardiola cannot afford to make the same mistake again and look to promote more academy products, whilst adding exciting young talents to his squad.
Truly, Sarmiento appears to be a massive talent and him already been likened to Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi speak volumes. City must lay out a proper plan for his development and if he isn’t ready for first-team football straightaway, Guardiola should loan the young winger out to a Championship club or some other league in Europe.
In recent years, the Cityzens have emphasised a lot in nurturing youth talents and the signing of starlet Sarmiento would be another step in the right direction.