Manchester City are reportedly watching 16-year-old Leeds starlet Archie Gray as the club look to bolster their impressive youth set-up.
According to The Athletic, Gray is being closely monitored by the Premier League's leading clubs, including Pep Guardiola's side. The ball-playing midfielder is highly regarded at Leeds, where he is currently on a scholarship with Jesse Marsch's side.
Gray is due to be offered a professional contract when he turns 17 next March - the youngster only just received his GCSE grades this summer. The report claims that former manager Marcelo Bielsa rated Gray so highly that he wanted him to train with the main squad during the day and, with his school’s permission, miss classes.
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Leeds will be hoping to agree a professional contract with Gray as soon as they can, in order to keep any potential suitors at arm's length. Given City's impressive ranks of youth players, and the opportunity to learn from Guardiola, there is no doubt the Blues will be a very appealing option for Gray should he decide to leave Elland Road.
Elsewhere, The Athletic report that City defender Luke Mbete is expected to join Huddersfield Town on loan. The 18-year-old is highly regarded by City and featured in the thrilling 3-3 draw against Barcelona this week.
Mbete came on for Ruben Dias at the Camp Nou in the 68th minute, only for the young centre-back to suffer a nasty head injury towards the end of the game that required 10 minutes of treatment. The defender clashed heads with Andreas Christensen and remained in Barcelona overnight for medical observation while the rest of his teammates flew home.
Mbete is thought to be fine, but only flew back to Manchester on Friday and is unlikely to be available as an option to provide cover on Saturday when Guardiola's side take on Crystal Palace. The injury is not thought to have scuppered any chance of a potential loan deal materialising, as it now appears the defender looks to be set to join the Terriers.
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