Maximo Perrone has been added to Manchester City's official Premier League squad, opening up the availability for him to play this season should the club decide.
Perrone, 20, signed from Velez Sarsfield in January for £8.2m - City's only incoming transfer of the winter transfer window. He is expected to link up with City soon after completing his international duty with Argentina at the South American under-20 Championship and will get the chance to train with the first team for the rest of the season.
The midfielder is seen as one for the future, though, and will be given time to adapt and be assessed in the coming months, rather than be expected to challenge for a first-team spot this season. A decision will then be made on whether to keep him at the Etihad or loan him out next season.
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By adding him to the list of under-21 players in City's official Premier League squad, the option for Perrone to feature remains open. However, it should be noted that a total of 61 under-21 players on the club's books are listed, including those out on loan - so Perrone's inclusion is no indication that he will or won't be used in the Premier League and it is merely a formality.
After Joao Cancelo's deadline day loan move to Bayern Munich, the full-back has been removed from the list, meaning he cannot play for City again this season. That leaves City's official squad list to stand at 20 players. Clubs are allowed up to 25 players, of which up to 17 can be 'non-homegrown'.
The Blues have seven homegrown players in the squad and 13 who don't fill that criteria. Youngsters like Rico Lewis and Cole Palmer are not included on the main list as they are eligible for the under-21 list.
Man City's 20-man Premier League squad after January transfer window:
Manu Akanji, Nathan Ake*, Julian Alvarez, Scott Carson*, Kevin De Bruyne, Ruben Dias, Ederson, Phil Foden*, Sergio Gomez, Jack Grealish*, Ilkay Gundogan, Erling Haaland, Aymeric Laporte, Riyad Mahrez, Stefan Ortega, Kalvin Phillips*, Rodri, Bernardo Silva, John Stones*, Kyle Walker*.
[* - homegrown]
Notable under-21 players:
Rico Lewis, Cole Palmer, Maximo Perrone.
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