Arsenal are reportedly interested in River Plate attacking midfielder Franco Mastantuono but face competition from Real Madrid for his signature.
The 17-year-old is considered to be one of the most exciting talents in South America and his performances have captured the attention of several top sides.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta wants to build a squad capable of dominating European football and signing youngsters with world-class potential will play a part in that.
According to TBR Football, Arsenal have been ‘frequently scouting’ Mastantuono and so too have Chelsea, while Manchester City and Barcelona have also shown ‘strong interest.’
However, Real Madrid are the favourites to sign him at this stage. The report states that Madrid have already opened talks to sign the Argentinian prodigy as they try and beat the competition to his signature.
It is understood that Mastantuono’s preference would be to join Carlo Ancelotti’s side. Madrid have secured some top young talents recently such as Endrick and Arda Guler and hope to repeat that trick with Mastantuono.
Arsenal haven’t given up on Mastantuono yet though and could convince him to join with the promise of ‘more playing time’ than he would get at the Bernabeu.
READ MORE: Edu determined to sign star Spain forward as LaLiga man deemed perfect fit for Arsenal
‘Messi is my idol’
Manchester United were linked with Mastantuono earlier this month but their interest seems to have cooled, per TBR Football’s report.
Mastantuono has been described as ‘the next Phil Foden’ and has previously revealed that he idolises Argentina legend and disputed GOAT Lionel Messi.
“I have 18/12/22 tattooed because of Messi. He is my idol and I follow him a lot, we all celebrated the World Cup for him,” Mastantuono said last February.
“I wear ’30’ for him, the truth is that I admire him and wearing this number is something very beautiful.”
Mastantuono’s potential is certainly sky-high. Real Madrid are the big favourites for now, but he is a player for Arsenal fans to keep an eye on in the coming months.
Arsenal plot Gyokeres swoop; eye new goalkeeper
Meanwhile, Arsenal are one of the sides keeping close tabs on Sporting CP goal machine Viktor Gyokeres as they eye a clinical striker to compete with Kai Havertz.
Sources have informed TEAMtalk that Liverpool, Tottenham and Chelsea are also weighing up swoops for the former Coventry man, who has an £85m release clause.
Gyokeres has scored an incredible 52 goals in 57 appearances since joining Sporting and could be a game-changing addition for the Gunners if he can keep up that form in the Premier League.
Arsenal also remain interested in Espanyol goalkeeper Joan Garcia, who they missed out on over the summer. The Catalan club’s president has revealed that the shot-stopper could be on the move in January.
The North Londoners want to sign a new back-up goalkeeper after selling Aaron Ramsdale to Southampton.
IN FOCUS: Franco Mastantuono
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