Manchester City loanee Claudio Echeverri handed major Benfica opportunity

Claudio Echeverri could finally be approaching a breakthrough at Benfica, with the Manchester City loanee using the international break to strengthen his position under Marco Silva.

The 20-year-old arrived in Lisbon at the end of the transfer window and immediately found himself playing catch-up.

Benfica’s season was already underway and Georgiy Sudakov had established himself ahead of Echeverri in Silva’s plans.

That hierarchy remains intact, but circumstances during the international break could now work firmly in Echeverri’s favour.

With Sudakov away representing Ukraine, Echeverri has remained in Lisbon and has three weeks to work closely with Silva.

According to Jornal de Notícias, that period could allow the Argentine to better understand the Benfica coach’s tactical demands and “gain ground” in the battle for regular minutes.

There have already been encouraging signs.

Echeverri initially remained on the bench before being handed opportunities from the substitutes’ bench, where his energy and willingness to attack through central areas made a positive impression.

The Manchester City youngster has demonstrated an ability to carry possession forward and play quick passes into dangerous areas around the penalty box.

In less than 20 minutes during one of his early appearances, Echeverri reportedly created as many chances as Sudakov managed across the entire match.

That provides Silva with something to consider once domestic football resumes.

Sudakov remains ahead of Echeverri in the pecking order, but his position is not necessarily untouchable.

The Ukrainian has struggled to impose himself consistently in some of Benfica’s biggest recent matches, potentially providing Echeverri with an opening.

Jornal de Notícias suggests Sudakov could now “feel the pressure” from his Manchester City-owned teammate following the international break.

For Echeverri, these weeks represent an important opportunity to demonstrate he is ready for greater responsibility.

His previous loan spells at Bayer Leverkusen and Girona failed to provide the consistency required for him to truly establish himself.

Benfica could prove different if he can turn his promising early cameos into regular appearances.

From Manchester City’s perspective, consistent playing time remains the priority.

Echeverri needs competitive minutes to continue his development, and challenging an established player such as Sudakov would represent significant progress after arriving late in Portugal.

There is also a longer-term transfer question surrounding the Argentine.

Benfica have a €21m (£18.2m) option to purchase Echeverri permanently from Manchester City.

Any decision on that front remains some way off, but the first requirement is obvious: Echeverri needs to play.

This international break may have provided him with his best opportunity yet to convince Silva that he deserves considerably more minutes.

Echeverri will continue working under Silva before Benfica return to competitive action.

His immediate objective is to turn a promising start into significantly more playing time and push Sudakov for a starting position. If he succeeds, the €21m purchase option could become an increasingly important discussion later in the season.