€50m 17 year old a target for Europe’s top clubs – Real Madrid will be hard to compete with | OneFootball

The rumour mill keeps on turning, and as we approach January things are really starting to warm up.

The latest South American talent getting everyone very excited is Franco Mastantuono of River Plate.

The 17 year old attacking midfielder looks like one of the brightest gems on the continent right now, and CaughtOffside today claim that Chelsea, along with Arsenal and Liverpool, are hot on his heels.

With a valuation of €45-50m before his 18th birthday, you get some sense of how highly rated this kid is. As you’d expect, the big boys in Spain are very keen too. If Real Madrid come in with a serious offer, it’s hard to see anyone else competing given their history and their current success in developing talents in a similar situation.

Given the demand for him, it looks like it will come down in large part to the player’s decision. There’s a growing cohort of South American talents at Chelsea already – perhaps that will be useful in swinging his decision?

Franco Mastantuono in action for River Plate. (Photo by Hernan Cortez/Getty Images)

Chelsea could buy Mastantuono despite crowded squad

As with all of these transfer rumours, it’s hard to see where they fit in given the sheer depth and quality of Chelsea’s squad right now, let alone the crop of top academy players coming up and the signings already arranged for the future.

However these sporting directors have shown they won’t miss a chance to bring a top talent in, even if that means forcing out some current players. So despite it not looking likely now, we wouldn’t rule anything out in this case.

Given his age, he could even be given several years on loan to develop before a first team debut, which could help clear space in the squad for a potentially unique talent.