Real Madrid youngster Franco Mastantuono is close to joining Fiorentina on loan, confirmed by Arancha Rodriguez on Tuesday afternoon.
The player has not been able to find consistent playing time in the last few months, and has not really improved the way everyone thought he would.
With the options Real Madrid have on the right in Endrick, the incoming Yan Diomande and Brahim Diaz, the club has decided to loan him out for a season with the hopes that some much-needed consistency and game-time for a smaller club would help him massively with his progress.
Mastantuono has shown some talent in these last couple of years, initially with River Plate and at the start of last season under Xabi Alonso, but the football he played kept worsening and becoming inconsistent as the season went on, which eventually put him out of favour with manager Alvaro Arbeloa.
Jose Mourinho already has enough wingers, meaning a loan move is the best possible outcome for the young Argentine.
Franco Mastantuono does not take up a first-team squad place at Real Madrid
However, even though it is still an exit, Mastantuono leaving still would not help Real Madrid sign Rodri this summer.
The obstacle is clearly still present: Real Madrid need to sell one player before they can buy the two they are linked with. Yan Diomande and Rodri have been linked to Real Madrid in the summer, with the former reportedly all but set for a move to Spain's capital.
Real Madrid's current 24-man squad can incorporate one of them, but if they want both, they would need one player to leave.
That one player cannot be Franco Mastantuono because the Argentine teenager is still registered with Castilla, meaning he does not take up any squad space at the moment.
Real Madrid need one of these players to leave. Raul Asencio, Eduardo Camavinga, Endrick, all have been linked with a move away in some capacity, but all of them are still at the club. With Endrick, you get the feeling that he would still contribute decently to the team, but Camavinga has had a couple of really rough seasons, and it just does not seem like he is good enough consistently for Real Madrid anymore.
It remains to be seen what the club decides to do in the coming weeks and months, but with the way Real Madrid players are staying their ground at the club, the only option might be to terminate Ferland Mendy's contract - which has somehow not been done yet.
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