Wednesday 4 October 2017 11:01, UK
Manchester City are interested in signing Roma's 21-year-old midfielder Lorenzo Pellegrini, according to Sky in Italy.
City officials are understood to have watched the forward play against Verona on September 16, after he returned to Roma in the summer following two seasons at Sassuolo.
Pellegrini began his career at Roma before being sold in 2015 for around £1m to Sassuolo, for whom he scored nine Serie A goals in nearly 50 appearances. The deal included a buy-back clause.
He has one cap for Italy - gained against San Marino in a friendly earlier this year - and 11 caps and four goals for the under-21s.
City have invested heavily in recruiting some of the world's best youth prospects, with the intent of creating an academy similar to Barcelona's La Masia - but they have so far been unable to graduate any of these youths into the first team.
No player who has played a first-team game for City this season has come from their youth academy, and 14 youngsters are out on loan either in the Championship or abroad.
