Man Utd, Chelsea and Real Madrid target could decide future in next few weeks

River Plate gem Franco Mastantuono looks to be the latest Latin American star to have captured the imagination of the great and the rich of European football. The 16-year-old continues to grow, scoring in River’s most recent Libertadores clash, rqualising in a 2-1 win over Libertad of Paraguay.

Mastantuono has been linked with an array of top European clubs including Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea, with all of the top sides scouting in the area no doubt aware of his talents. Barcelona are reportedly a club he would be keen to join, and the Blaugrana have been in contact with his representatives, but their finances prohibit them from making a move until next year.

The Millonario recently extended his deal until 2026, raising his release clause to €45m, which rises a further €5m in the final 10 days of the transfer window. Sport report that his future could be decided in the next few weeks though, which would likely see Barcelona miss out on him – an extra motivation for their rivals to move quicker.

It would be another bitter pill to swallow for the Blaugrana were Los Blancos to snap up another top Latin American talent ahead of them. The fact that there is talk of Mastantuono’s future being decided suggests that either all of the clubs are looking to negotiate a fee below the release clause, or all of them are looking to activate his release clause.