Man City head cluster of seven top clubs chasing £35m-rated 16-year-old

When the cream of the world’s footballing talent becomes available, Man City will always be at the head of the queue given their current standing in the game.

Pep Guardiola’s swashbucklers remain as FA Cup holders, Champions League winners, Premier League winners and World Champions at the time of writing.

For any player, particularly those who are not out of their teens, that’s an intoxicating lure.

Why wouldn’t you want to play for a club who are at the top of their game in all aspects and, if you’re good enough, offer a genuine pathway into the first-team.

Man City face competition for Franco Mastantuono

The latest youngster to pique the interest of those at the Etihad Stadium is River Plate’s exciting 16-year-old, Franco Mastantuono.

The Argentinian is making waves for River according to Turkish journalist, Ekrem Konur (h/t Fichajes), and is being followed by six clubs other than City; Barcelona, Real Madrid, Benfica, Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain and Man United.

Franco Mastantuono of River Plate is a target for Man City. (Photo by Daniel Jayo/Getty Images)

The outlet note he is rated at $45m/£35m despite his tender years and the fact that he isn’t a regular starter at present.

Where City will probably feel that they have the upper hand is in their close relationship with their Argentine counterparts.

Both Julian Alvarez and Claudio Echeverri have been acquired by the Premier League outfit from River in recent years, so securing Mastantuono would be a brilliant hat-trick.

He has a contract in place until December 2026, so any negotiations may not be as straightforward as City hope, however, a move to Europe from Argentina is a well trodden path, and Mastantuono would be following a long list of his countrymen to make the switch in order to better themselves both professionally and financially.

Time will tell if the Cityzens have enough ‘pull’ to get a deal for a player who isn’t 17 until August over the line.

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