Coming from Fabrizio Romano this morning Manchester City has just completed the signing of world-class Mexican Midfielder to replace Kelvin Phillips
Alex Alcala, a Mexican youth international, has officially joined Manchester City.
The 18-year-old leaves LA Galaxy after the Blues exercised a purchase option from a 2020 contract with the City Football Group. The talented midfielder Alcala is anticipated to remain at the academy for the remainder of this season and the following one, however he may go on loan in the following campaign.
The 17-year-old midfielder Claudio Echeverri from River Plate is also on the verge of joining City permanently; this is likely to be their last significant January transfer. The Blues will give Echeverri at least another six months to be with the Argentine team before determining his best options, much like they did with Julian Alvarez in 2022.
Alvarez’s success—he helped City win five major titles in 2023 after Argentina won the World Cup in December 2022—has raised hopes that the Blues may be able to reap additional benefits from Joan Patsy’s recruitment drive in South America. When other teams started to notice Alvarez’s potential in January 2022, the director of football in South America for City Football Group persuaded the Blues to move for him, and the £14 million fee already appears to be one of the best deals in recent memory.
City has had great success in Brazil as well. In Pep Guardiola’s first season in command, Gabriel Jesus made an immediate impression upon joining from Palmeiras, while full-back Yan Couto is making an impression for Girona, a team that is defying the odds in La Liga.
The only other significant event in January will be Kalvin Phillips’s brief departure. A lot of Premier League teams want to give him a chance to play regularly before the summer’s Euros, but City doesn’t have to let him go and won’t allow him to go on loan without receiving compensation.
