Chelsea make contact to sign Argentine starlet – Blues have ‘lot of appetite’, need to rush

On April 3rd, we covered claims from Argentina that Chelsea have moved into the picture to sign River Plate young star Franco Mastantuono.

The Blues have joined the chase for the 16-year-old, who is being courted by top clubs across Europe.

Chelsea’s interest is highlighted in today’s edition of Sport, when discussing Real Madrid’s efforts to secure a deal.

The attacking midfielder is a product of the Argentine club’s academy and was promoted to their first team earlier this year. He’s scored two goals from 11 games so far.

Although the youngster has only made a handful of appearances, European clubs are keen on signing him. Chelsea have already secured deals for a few South American youngsters and now have Mastantuono on their radar.

The west London club, who have a ‘lot of appetite in the South American market’, have only made an approach with Mastantuono’s entourage.

Real Madrid had two meetings with River Plate, but haven’t yet made an offer. Barcelona, for their part, are giving up on this operation due to their financial situation.

Mastantuono has a €45m release clause and Sport add it will rise to €50m for the last 10 days of every transfer window. Real Madrid are trying to take advantage of Barcelona’s situation to get ahead in the transfer race.

Chelsea, on the other hand, have only made contact with his entourage, and will have to quickly step up their efforts if they wish to secure a deal for the Argentine starlet.