Manchester United interested in signing 16-year-old Argentine wonderkid - Reports

Manchester United have reportedly expressed an interest in signing 16-year-old River Plate midfielder Franco Mastantuono. According to ESPN, a number of teams are interested in signing the 16-year-old, including Barcelona and United.

Further, a report from journalist Germán García Grova claims that the player is nearing a contract renewal with the Argentinian side. This means that any European club trying to sign him would have to pay a large fee, with some believing that Mastantuono could become the most expensive player in Argentine football.

Despite being just 16 years old, he has made eight appearances for the senior side, bagging one goal. It is important to note that even if United reach an agreement for the player, he cannot come to Europe until he turns 18.

A report from TyC Sports earlier this month that Manchester United had sent scouts to Argentina to watch a quartet of youngsters, including Mastantuono.

Others on the list included Boca Juniors defender Aaron Anselmino, River Plate winger Ian Subiabre, and Independiente midfielder Tomas Parmo. The Red Devils will be hoping to emulate the success their cross-town rivals Manchester City have had with the signing of Julian Alvarez from River Plate.

Erik ten Hag fires back at Jamie Carragher after comments about Manchester United defense

ten Hag hit back at the former Liverpool man.

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag claimed that Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher's analysis was subjective after he criticised the Red Devils' defensive structure in their 2-1 loss to Fulham.

Ahead of the side's FA Cup clash against Nottingham Forest, the Dutchman said (via press conference):

"Some analysts are objective in their comments, [offer] very good advices, some are very subjective - Jamie Carragher is one of them."

"For the first moment he is criticising and now he wants to make his point. In the first half an hour [vs Fulham] he had a point. Fulham surprised with their midfield setup and we had to find a solution. We did after half an hour."

"I wasn't pleased with the defensive performance, especially down the left side and that has everything to do with willingness, spirit and passion. That was good in previous weeks, therefore we won football games."

The Red Devils' midfield was bypassed time and again as Fulham enjoyed lots of space in their attacking endeavours. It eventually helped the London side secure a 2-1 win.

Manchester United will be hoping to put the loss behind them with a strong performance against Nottingham Forest in the fifth round of the FA Cup. The domestic tournament represents the team's only realistic chance of lifting silverware this season.