Fulham have reportedly emerged as surprise contenders to sign Franco Mastantuono on loan from Real Madrid ahead of the new Premier League season.
According to The Sun, the Cottagers are hoping to take advantage of the teenager’s uncertain short-term future at the Santiago Bernabeu after his high-profile move from River Plate.
While Real Madrid see Mastantuono as one of the brightest young talents in world football, a temporary move could help accelerate his development with regular first-team football.
Former Real Madrid and Liverpool striker Fernando Morientes believes a loan would be the best outcome for both the player and the Spanish giants.
Morientes backs Fulham loan
Speaking to Reviant, Morientes admitted that Premier League clubs interested in signing Mastantuono permanently would be taking a gamble because of his lack of experience at the highest level.
“Could Franco Mastantuono be one of the big transfer stories of the summer? Honestly, being completely honest, if I were any of those clubs and I wanted Mastantuono, I’d want him on loan,” Morientes said.
“He generates a lot of hype. From what I’ve seen of him, the way he plays, I get the feeling he’s a player with brutal quality, but to my mind he’s, I was going to say a little green, he’s very green for top-level competition.
“If we’re talking about Liverpool, a Manchester club, a Chelsea, Real Madrid, Barça, I think he’s still a long way from that level.”
Morientes even suggested Fulham would be an ideal destination.
“That’s why I think a loan spell somewhere like Fulham does these kinds of players a lot of good, to give an example.
“A loan…if Madrid don’t trust him yet, put a buy-back option in there for Fulham, for instance, and really just do what almost all of us have done: climb the ladder gradually with the big talents.”
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Real Madrid urged to be patient
Morientes also pointed to previous examples of young players benefiting from loan spells before establishing themselves at elite clubs.
“You need to go out on loan. Hendrick went out on loan. It’s about proving yourself at other clubs so you can climb, step by step, until you reach the level of the big clubs,” he explained.
“The level at the big clubs looks easy from outside, but it’s a very big step up. It’s a very big step, because it’s not just about being a good player, you have to perform from the first minute, do it every single weekend, and show what Lamine Yamal has shown.
“Those who aren’t capable of handling that process need, in my view, a loan of a year or two to develop as players. And if they’re really good enough, they’ll come back. If not, well, they stay at other clubs in the top flight.”
Fulham could now offer Mastantuono exactly that opportunity, with regular Premier League football potentially providing the ideal platform for one of South America’s brightest young prospects.
And with new boss Alvaro Arbeloa having previously been at Real Madrid, favour could well be on the Cottagers’ side.
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