Man United interested in teenager with a release clause of £38m

Man United are considering a move for one of the highest rated teenagers in world as Ruben Amorim plans to boost his attacking options following a disappointing Premier League season.

Sunday's 1-0 home defeat by Wolves leaves the club 13th in the Premier League table and out of every other competition apart from the Europa League.

After that match, Man United manager Amorim identified his team's inability to score goals as the primary reason for their lowly position in the table.

'If we don't score goals nothing matters because in the end it is the result that counts, especially in these kinds of moments,' said the Portuguese boss.

The Red Devils have scored just 38 goals in 33 Premier League games this season, fewer than the likes of Tottenham (61) and Wolves (48) who sit below them in the table.

It's set to be a busy summer transfer window at Old Trafford as they seek to address that shortcoming with the club already working on deals for Ipswich striker Liam Delap and Wolves forward Matheus Cunha.

And now it has emerged that the club are also eyeing up River Plate wunderkind Franco Mastantuono who has a release clause of £38m, the highest-ever in the Argentinian club's history.

Chelsea, Real Madrid Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan are also on the trail of the 17-year-old starlet who became his club's youngest goalscorer at just 16 years, five months and 25 days in February 2024, beating the record held by Javier Saviola.

The Blues will get the chance to see Mastantuono at close quarters at this summer's expanded Club World Cup in Miami.

Mastantuono is just the latest top talent to emerge from River's famed academy after Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez and Atletico's Julian Alvarez, who were among six graduates from the club's youth system in Argentina's 2022 World Cup-winning squad.

Mastantuono, who has already featured for the under-17 and under-21 sides, is expected to make his full debut next season and be in Lionel Scaloni’s squad for next summer's World Cup.

The left-footed midfielder, who has three goals and two assists across 11 appearances in all competitions this season, usually plays on the right and cuts inside onto his stronger foot.