Premier League clubs to face competition from Champions League finalists in race to sign Argentinian teenage superstar | OneFootball

Manchester United and Chelsea will face competition from Paris Saint-Germain in the race to sign River Plate’s 17-year-old Franco Mastantuono.

Widely regarded as one of Argentina’s most promising future stars, Mastantuono is expected to represent River Plate at this summer’s FIFA Club World Cup but could then head to Europe – with Barcelona and Atlético Madrid also understood to be keen on the teenager, as reported by Sky Sports.

Mastantuono is still a few months shy of his 18th birthday but has already established himself as one of the finest talents in the River Plate’s esteemed history, boasting the highest-ever release clause (£38m) the club have ever set.

Developing superstars is nothing new for River Plate and if Mastantuono was to leave for the Premier League this summer, he’d follow in the footsteps of fellow academy graduates Julián Alvarez, Claudio Echeverri and Enzo Fernández, who have also made the move to England in recent years.

17-year-old Mastantuono has registered six goal involvements in 11 appearances across all competitions so far this season, having become a key part of the squad since making his debut in January 2024. His rise to stardom has been rapid: he became the club’s youngest goalscorer the following month, and netted the opener in their Superclásico meeting with Boca Juniors earlier this year.

He has also been handed his first senior Argentina call-up, with Lionel Scaloni naming him in the squad to face Chile and Colombia in la Albiceleste‘s upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Argentina have already confirmed their participation in next year’s tournament, set to be co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.