Manchester City officials attend major clash in Prague – Winning goal scored by former ‘Next Gen’ talent

Officials from Manchester City were reportedly in attendance at a showdown clash in the Czech Republic last month, with a notable name scoring the match-winning goal.

It is part of an ongoing pursuit of the globe’s best rising talents as City Football Group look to continue their dominance of the sport by signing up exciting names and sending them on loan to one of the clubs in their expansive roster across continents.

The ongoing season has seen the rise of Girona in La Liga competition this season – a team part-owned by City Football Group and subsequently benefitting from the extensive list of rising talents within Manchester City and the Group’s database.

Yan Couto is currently on loan at the Catalan club from Manchester City, developing his game so much that he is now regarded as a senior Brazil international following his starring performances alongside compatriot and Girona teammate Savio.

Despite City Football Group’s strong interest in the South American game, a new report has revealed their monitoring of talents in Europe, following a recent scouting mission in the Czech Republic.

That is according to the information of ‘Scouts in Attendance’, a Manchester City talent official watched the Czech Cup meeting between Slavia Prague and Sparta Prague at the end of February, with the latter coming out 2-3 victors.

The report points out that the match-winning goal, scored from the penalty spot in the 114th minute of the match, was converted by Sparta Prague attacking midfielder Adam Karabec (20) – a name included in the Guardian’s 2020 edition of their ‘Next Gen’ talents list.

At present it remains to be seen whether Manchester City will formalise any interest in some of the talents on show in the contest, and there is no confirmation as to whether Adam Karabec was a player of interest.

Alongside their interest in the Prague showdown, Manchester City have also been monitoring performances in Portugal, with recent reports claiming an interest from the Premier League champions in Porto and Argentina midfield Alan Varela.

The 22-year-old has a €70 million release clause having joined FC Porto from Boca Juniors, but with Manchester City requiring further reinforcement in midfield following the struggles of Kalvin Phillips, the English giants may deem his price tag necessary.