La Liga champions Real Madrid are reportedly closer to signing River Plate wonderkid Franco Mastantuono, who will cost around €45 million.
According to a report by Spanish outlet MARCA, Franco Mastantuono is the subject of interest from Real Madrid. The River Plate wonderkid is also a target for Manchester City. However, the Merengues are the front-runners to sign the 16-year-old, although they want to bring his price down from €45 million to €25 million.
The rapid rise of Franco Mastantuono
Franco Mastantuono has become the talk of the town in the transfer market since breaking into the first-team squad at River Plate. The famous Argentine giants have produced another highly-rated prodigy after Claudio Echeverri and Julian Alvarez secured big moves abroad in the last two years.
The 16-year-old has turned out 18 times thus far for the River Plate first team, chipping in with two goals and one assist. Meanwhile, Mastantuono’s progress has not gone unnoticed, capturing the attention of several high-profile clubs across Europe, including Real Madrid and Manchester City.
A child prodigy in demand
Real Madrid and Manchester City are renowned for constantly scouring the market for highly-rated prodigies. The Merengues have created their entire squad with the help of that outlook, with Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo, Federico Valverde, and Eduardo Camavinga becoming pivotal figures in the first-team squad.
Endrick will arrive at the Santiago Bernabeu this summer, while Real Madrid will look to add Franco Mastantuono to the first-team squad when he turns 18. The latest report has revealed that the reigning La Liga champions are increasingly likely to sign the 16-year-old. However, Real Madrid will look to drive the price down from €45 million to €25 million.
As for Manchester City, they have signed Echeverri and Alvarez from River Plate in the last two years. The Premier League champions were eager to steal a march on Real Madrid for Mastantuono. However, with Los Blancos closing in on landing the Argentine wonderkid, Manchester City might be running out of time.
Manchester City can potentially hijack Real Madrid’s move by coughing up €45 million to secure his services. It will be interesting to see if the Premier League champions step up and beat Los Blancos to Franco Mastantuono’s signature.
