Sky Sports: Chelsea face competition from Man United for £38m rated sensation
Chelsea are amongst the clubs interested in River Plate’s Argentine sensation Franco Mastantuono according to Sky Sports.
The Blues are braced for another busy summer and could fund their business by selling as many as seven or eight players.
Chelsea face a critical summer as they look to sign a striker, centre back and right footed attacker to strengthen Enzo Maresca’s squad.
Chelsea interested in Mastantuono
The Blues need players who can come in and improve the starting line-up, and the last things fans want to see are more youngsters and so called project players.
Chelsea’s transfer policy has drastically changed under the Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital ownership with the Blues targeting the best youngsters from around the world.
The club have particularly targeted South America, and have signed the likes of Andrey Santos, Estevao Willian and Kendry Paez.
Mastantuono is believed to have a £38m release clause. (Photo by Hernan Cortez/Getty Images)
However, it now seems they’ve set their eyes on another of the continent’s top talents, with Sky Sports reporting Chelsea are interested in Mastantuono.
The report states the 17-year-old attacking midfielder has a release clause of £38m, with his contract at River Plate expiring in 2026.
Sky Sports add Manchester United, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid are all interested in the teenager, who turns 18 this summer.
Mastantuono became River Plate’s youngest goalscorer at just 16, whilst he’s expected to feature at the Club World Cup in America this summer.
The Argentine has three goals and two assists from 11 appearances in all competitions and was linked with the Blues before they signed Estevao.
You can understand why Chelsea would be interested given Mastantuono ticks all the boxes in terms of the recruitment model.
However, a move literally makes no sense when the Blues have Estevao, Paez and Cole Palmer already at the club, not to mention £38m for a teenager is a lot of money which could be put towards strengthening the first team.
