Scoop: Inter chase Mastantuono, a loan with option to buy from Real

A TransferBeat exclusive. While the Real and Inter legends met at the Bernabeu, the two clubs also talked about the present: Inter have their eye on Franco Mastantuono. The formula on the table is a loan with an option to buy. Still a rumour, but the trail is alive.

Two days ago the Santiago Bernabeu reunited the ghosts of glories past: the Corazon Classic Match, Real Madrid Leyendas-Inter Legends 2-1. Hernanes gave Inter a fleeting lead, before Pepe and Barral completed the comeback, all in aid of the Fundacion Real Madrid. But whenever Inter and Real cross paths, even between legends, talk always turns to the market.

And one name in particular is doing the rounds: Franco Mastantuono. According to information gathered by TransferBeat, Inter have made their first moves for the Argentine talent born in 2007, who joined Real from River Plate last summer and is now chasing minutes. The idea is a loan with an option to buy: a season in black and blue to grow, with the right to keep him.

The knot, inevitably, is that very clause. Real, who always protect their jewels - see the Nico Paz model at Como - would want a buy-back in their favour; Inter, instead, are pushing for a clean option to buy, with no counter-clauses that would hand the player back to the blancos. This is where the deal lives or dies.

For Marotta and Ausilio it would be a classic Inter coup: a young gamble, a wage made sustainable by the loan, a potential capital gain if Mastantuono takes off. And the player himself would welcome Serie A precisely to play regularly, no given thing in a star-studded Madrid.

A word of caution, though: this is still firmly in rumour territory, with Juventus lurking in the background and no bid yet on the table. Only enquiries. But the backdrop - Inter and Real face to face again, even if only between legends - tells you the channel is open. TransferBeat will keep following the trail and updating this page.

TransferBeat aggregates transfer news citing the original sources. Developing story.