Manchester City have completed the signing of highly rated Argentina youth international Maximo Perrone from Velez Sarsfield.
The 20-year-old is reported to have cost City £8million initially and has signed a deal that runs through June 2028.
Perrone only made his breakthrough at Velez last March, but the central midfielder quickly established himself as a prominent part of the senior team, even wearing the captain s armband on occasion.
His contract had entered its final year, and although City are said to be paying more than his reported £7m release clause, that was sure to be significantly higher if Velez did manage to secure his future into 2024.
Perrone is the latest in a string of exports to fetch Velez a considerable fee in the past six years, with Thiago Almada, Matias Vargas, Santiago Caseres, Maxi Romero and Nicolas Dominguez bringing in roughly £47m between them.
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.
Welcome, Máximo!
— Manchester City (@ManCity)
He is City s second recruit from Argentina over the past year, with Julian Alvarez joining from River Plate at the end of last season.
Alvarez was signed midway through last term before spending a period back on loan at River, though no such agreement has been struck for Perrone.
He will link up with City immediately once his participation at the Under-20 South American Championship in Colombia is over.
Perrone scored in Argentina s opening match but was unable to prevent his side losing 2-1 to Paraguay.
Argentina s final group game is on January 27 – if they are not eliminated, Perrone will likely join up with City in February.
