The three young players were all members of the Argentina team that competed in the recent U-17 World Cup and advanced to the semifinals. Ruberto was awarded the Golden Boot, while Echeverri received the Bronze Boot.
Attacking midfielder Echeverri, 17, whose nationality has contributed to comparisons with Lionel Messi, has already made four senior appearances for River Plate; the other two players, winger Subiabre, 16, and striker Ruberto, 17, have not yet made their first-team debuts.
Echeverri and Ruberto both turn 18 in January and will therefore be able to move overseas, and 90min understands both Chelsea and City are working hard to win the battle for their signatures. The duo are both under contract until the end of 2024.
City are believed to be confident of landing the three youngsters thanks to their excellent relationship with River Plate stemming from their signing of Julian Alvarez in 2022, and they are open to deals which would see both Echeverri and Ruberto remain in Argentina until a later date.
Subiabre, who has left scouts equally as excited, does not turn 18 until January 2025 and can only move overseas at that point, with his current contract set to expire at the end of that year.
Chelsea are understood to be prepared to match any deals on offer for the trio, having already flashed their willingness to spend big on young prospects with the £17m signing of 16-year-old Ecuadorian Kendry Paez.
However, there is significant competition for all three of Echeverri, Ruberto and Subiabre, with most of Europe’s elite holding talks about at least one of the trio in recent weeks.
90min understands Premier League rivals Brighton & Hove Albion, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur have all engaged in talks, as have Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Elsewhere in Europe, the trio are attracting interest from Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, AC Milan and Inter.