Manchester City have announced the signing of midfielder Maximo Perrone from Argentine outfit Velez Sarsfield.
The 20-year-old has penned a five-and-half year contract with the reigning Premier League champions, keeping him tied to the Etihad Stadium until the summer of 2028.
There appeared to be fears that the deal could fall through earlier this month after Velez president Sergio Rapisarda confirmed that the Citizens had failed with a bid to recruit Perrone, claiming they were "not seduced" by the offer that they had received.
However, Man City have since reached an agreement to sign the highly-rated midfielder for a fee believed to be slightly higher than his €8m (£7.1m) release clause.
The Citizens have confirmed that Perrone will join up with Pep Guardiola's squad after representing Argentina at the Under-20 South American Championships, which began on January 19 and runs until February 12.
We're delighted to have completed the signing of Máximo Perrone from Vélez Sarsfield. The midfielder will join us after the U-20 South American Championship.
— Manchester City (@ManCity) January 23, 2023
Welcome, Máximo! 💙🇦🇷#ManCity
Born in Buenos Aires, Perrone made his professional debut with Velez in March last year and quickly established himself as a first-team regular.
The defensive midfielder found the net three times and provided two assists in 33 appearances across the Primera Division and Copa Libertadores.
Perrone was part of the Velez squad who reached the semi-finals of the Copa Libertadores in 2022, although he missed both legs of their defeat on aggregate to Flamengo.
The youngster featured seven times for Argentina's Under-16s before making his Under-20s debut under head coach Javier Mascherano in a 2-2 friendly draw against the USA in March.
Perrone follows in the footsteps of fellow Argentine and World Cup winner Julian Alvarez, who moved to the Etihad from River Plate in January last year.
Should Perrone and Argentina's Under-20s go all the way in the South American Championships, the midfielder would be expected to arrive at Man City towards the end of February.
Oliver Thomas
