MANCHESTER CITY have completed the £5.2million signing of Argentine ‘mini Messi’ Dario Sarmiento from Estudiantes.
The Premier League leaders boast one of the best academy setups in the country, and are always keen to bolster their ranks with fresh talent from abroad.
And Sarmiento, 18, is to become the latest exciting young player to arrive this summer.
In addition to a £5.2m fee, Estudiantes will receive a 20 per cent sell on clause.
Sarmiento will officially become a City player on July 1, Estudiantes have confirmed.
They wrote in a club statement: “We can reveal that, upon completion of the transfer agreement signed with Manchester City, Dario Sarmiento will join the English team from July 1 onwards.
A left-footed 5ft 6in winger, Sarmiento has drawn inevitable comparisons with his compatriot Lionel Messi.
He is unlikely to feature for Pep Guardiola’s side next season, however.
Instead, he will be farmed out to one of City’s partner clubs on loan, while he waits to receive a work permit.
Sarmiento became Estudiantes’ second-youngest ever player back in 2019, when he made his first-team debut aged just 16 years and seven months.
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City had been in negotiations with Estudiantes for a while, as revealed by SunSport’s Tim Vickery back in January.
SunSport also exclusively revealed last weekend that City are in talks with Red Star Belgrade to sign teenage winger Andrija Radulovic.
But like Sarmiento, should the deal go through, Radulovic will initially be sent to one of City’s partner clubs on loan.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
