Manchester City are keeping tabs on Porto midfielder Alan Varela, according to Maisfutebol.

The Portuguese website reports that the Premier League champions have been “following” the Argentinian Under 20 international since his days at Boca Juniors.

However, even after Varela’s switch to Porto, the Cityzens have continued to watch him “very closely”, having sent scouts to recent games as they weigh up a potential bid for the player.

Maisfutebol do, however, emphasise that there are no negotiations ongoing between the two clubs but it is a transfer that could happen during the summer transfer window.

Varela won’t be available on the cheap

The 22-year-old only moved to Portugal last year for €8m and a €70m (£60m) release clause was included in his contract which City may have to trigger if they want to secure the player’s services.

Considering that Porto do tend to sell their best players in order to balance the books, you do feel that Pep Guardiola’s side will be able to negotiate down the price to some extent.

Other Premier League teams could challenge City for the midfielder

Varela put in an impressive performance against Arsenal in the Champions League last month and, at the time, it was reported in the Portuguese press that the likes of Manchester United, Aston Villa and West Ham all had scouts watching the game.

Representatives from City were not believed to be in attendance for that match but, based on Maisfutebol‘s reporting, it appears they have gone to other games.

Since the 1-0 victory over Arsenal, Porto have played three fixtures, drawing 1-1 with Gil Vicente, beating Santa Clara in the Portuguese Cup, as well as thrashing rivals Benfica 5-0 last weekend.

For now, it looks like City have a watching brief on Varela but their longstanding interest suggests a bid cannot be ruled out in the future.