New names in the world of football continue to emerge, and Barcelona is often always invested in them. Youth players have now become the bets of the future for La Blaugrana, especially due to their financial restraints. However, there are specific names that Barcelona targets before all else.
One of those names currently plays his football over in Argentina. A pearl of River Plate, this particular Argentinian prodigy could be reminiscent of Claudio Echeverri for Barcelona. However, just like Echeverri ended up being stolen away by Manchester City, the quest to acquire this new pearl will be equally as troublesome.
Named Franco Mastantuono, he is a talented midfielder who is aged 16 and is gifted with a brilliant left foot. A player highlighted as being talented well beyond his years, he has already even featured for the first team of his Argentinian club. However, as highlighted by SPORT, the race for his signature includes several big names.
One of those names is Barcelona themselves, but the hurdles for them are rather significant. While Barcelona continue to invest in the South American market to find talents for the future on a budget, Mastantuono’s case could be different. As per the report, his contract extension until 2025 also includes a release clause close to €45-50 million.
However, Barcelona has faith in the player’s will to play for them. They believe that the sporting project that they would present and the attraction to the club that the player may have could help them get the deal over the line. Yet, for now, River Plate are adamant about following the rules of his active release clause.
This amount is rather troublesome for Barcelona, as their financial restrictions limit them greatly. However, their other opponents for the same player’s signature will hardly be fazed by them. Those particular opponents include Premier League sides Manchester City and Chelsea, as well as the El Clasico rivals of Barcelona, Real Madrid.
For Manchester City, the acquisition of Claudio Echeverri was not the last stop. They could now also go for the signature of Mastantuono and could end up bringing the 16-year-old Argentinian prodigy over to England. However, with the funding that Chelsea has, the Blues of London will also be trying their best.
As for Real Madrid, they continue to follow their typical strategy. Any player in the South American market that Barcelona ends up following, Real Madrid activate their own deterrents to a possible signing by also following the same targets more often than now. Perhaps the Neymar Jr signing all those years back continues to have its consequences.
For now, no final decision about the player’s future has been made. He made a name for himself in the Under-17 FIFA World Cup, but Barcelona have reportedly been following him from even before.
While it is not confirmed as of yet, SPORT also believes that Paris Saint-Germain could potentially enter the equation as well given their recent endeavors in the South American market.
