Real Madrid staff are not looking at 17-year-old Franco Mastantuono as a signing for the future and are instead reported to be prepared to hand him a major role in the first team this coming season.
Madrid confirmed in June that they had won the race to sign Mastantuono from River Plate, spending big money to land the attacking midfielder ahead of his 18th birthday on August 14, when his contract with Los Blancos will begin.
Mastantuono will arrive at the Santiago Bernabéu with just 65 senior games under his belt but, despite his tender years, AS state Madrid staff are already viewing the teenager as a starter for Xabi Alonso’s side next season.
While players of Mastantuono’s age and comparative inexperience can often be given plenty of time on the sidelines to adjust to their new surroundings—Endrick only started three La Liga games after his arrival last summer—there are no such plans with Mastantuono, who is expected to be thrown straight into the squad and challenged to adapt under the spotlight.
One potential hold-up to this plan is the fact Mastantuono will only have four training sessions with his new teammates before Madrid’s La Liga opener against Osasuna on August 19. Mastantuono is, therefore, expected to spend his first few weeks as a substitute, but still seeing plenty of minutes to accelerate his development.
Mastantuono has been earmarked as the immediate replacement for Jude Bellingham, who will be sidelined until November after undergoing shoulder surgery. When Bellingham returns, the Argentina international is expected to take the role in the squad currently occupied by Rodrygo, who has been heavily linked with an exit.
It is claimed that this ambitious plan for Mastantuono has been agreed upon by nearly everybody involved with Madrid, who are confident they have signed a superstar not only for the future, but for the present as well.
Mastantuono is expected to arrive in Madrid next week to begin acclimatizing to life in a new city, on a different continent, but cannot join up with the squad until he turns 18.
A date has not yet been set for his presentation to the media, but it is expected to be either on his birthday or the day after, August 15.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Report: Real Madrid Hatch Bold Plan for New Signing.