Representatives from Manchester City were present at a Europa League tie on Thursday to watch a young defender in action who could be of interest to the club this summer.
Manchester City had a relatively quiet week in the build-up to their most recent Premier League fixture against Leeds, with Pep Guardiola even giving his players a few days off.
However, there is always work going on behind the scenes at a club like Man City, with scouts hard at work to identify Europe’s most promising talents.
This has once again been the case, with City club scouts in attendance to watch Genk’s 3-3 draw after extra time against Dinamo Zagreb in the Europa League last Thursday.
Manchester City scouts have been watching Matte Smets
According to journalist Ekrem Konur, Man City’s scouts attended Genk’s most recent European tie to watch Matte Smets, a 22-year-old centre back.
Representatives from PSG, Tottenham, Aston Villa, Man United & Dortmund were also present to watch the player, as well as Zakaria El Ouahdi & Yaimar Medina.
Smets was part of a defence to concede three goals, but he did win all his duels, as well as making 10 defensive contributions in total.
Smets has been a key player for Genk
Genk’s most in-demand player is rarely able to take a break, considering he has already made 40 appearances this season.
Smets has not missed a single minute for Genk across all competitions during the current campaign, which is a testimony to his reliability and superb fitness.
Man City would need a big offer to persuade the Belgian club to part ways with their important defender, but the perks of paying this price are clear to see.
