Chelsea & Man Utd battling for record-breaking South American teenager | OneFootball

Chelsea and Manchester United are among an array of European giants interested in signing River Plate's teenage sensation Franco Mastantuono.

The 17-year-old has earned the tag of wonderkid since emerging from River's fabled academy last year and the Argentine attacking midfielder has already racked up 53 appearances and 11 goal contributions for the Buenos Aires club's senior side.

Mastantuono, who is the youngest goalscorer in River's history, is attracting attention from a "host of Premier League clubs" according to a recent report from Sky Sports, including Chelsea and Manchester United.

There is understandably interest from elsewhere in Europe, too, with Barcelona "admirers" of the starlet and Atletico Madrid having already sent scouts to watch him live.

Mastantuono reportedly boasts a release clause of €45m (£38.6m) - the highest in River's history - and the club's strong financial position means they are under no pressure to sell one of their prized assets for anything less.

Mastantuono has an abundance of suitors / SOPA Images/GettyImages

River have produced many incredible talents in the 21st century, including the likes of Enzo Fernandez, Julian Alvarez, Gonzalo Higuain and Javier Mascherano, with Mastantuono another tipped for similar greatness.

The South American market has been well-trodden by Premier League clubs in recent years as well, with Chelsea striking deals ahead of time for Kendry Paez and Estevao Willian. Manchester City have also recently poached Claudio Echeverri from River. Mastantuono could be the next to head to Europe, not least because the aforementioned release clause is affordable for Premier League clubs.

The forward is not the only River youngster drawing glances from the English top flight, either. According to journalist Eduardo Burgos, Chelsea and Manchester United have already been in contact with the Argentine giants for 19-year-old winger Ian Subiabre.

River are attempting to negotiate a new contract extension with Subiabre that would raise his release clause to €30m (£25.7m) amid interest from the Premier League teams. The youngster has made 14 appearances at senior level and scored his first and only goal for the club at the end of March.