Club Brugge player catches the attention of Pep Guardiola

City’s boss had a front row seat to the viewing of Charles de Ketelaere, an academy product of Brugge, who is attracting interest from across Europe.

Italian newspaper CalcioMercato reports that Guardiola was impressed by the performance of the 20-year-old, despite a torrid night for the Belgian side.

He was made to lead the line for 79 minutes before being withdrawn in what was a quiet night, however the player won six ground duels and played 10 accurate passes, taking 31 touches of the ball, which could fit into City’s possession based game.

An opposition scouting report will be done for Brugge’s trip to the Etihad, it has been reported.

De Ketelaere’s an international teammate of Kevin de Bruyne and most recently the City star set up the youngster for his first international goal.

It was a goal that could be described as a ‘coming-of-age’ moment where one of Belgium’s top players linked up with one of their prospects from a conveyor belt of talent.

In 1,548 minutes fewer or 27 games to be exact, he has already matched his goals tally for last season.

He is also a natural winner too with two division titles already, with just under 100 professional appearances after bursting onto the scene at 18.

Could a deal happen?

One stumbling block in any proposed deal is that City already have a player similar to De Ketelaere and he was on target in the same game.

Academy product Cole Palmer came off the bench and scored his first Champions League goal with a composed finish that could be likened to an experienced professional.

Pep has a way of incorporating attacking players into his system, however, and this season we have seen Jack Grealish incorporated as a centre-forward, a newer position for him.

It is very early days to determine whether any interest in the Belgian is real but Man City will always be in the market for a player who could be of value to them.