Manchester City had representatives in the stands to watch Real Sociedad’s match against FC Midtjylland in the Europa League on Thursday night, according to reports.

Scouts in Attendance claim the Citzyens had observers at the game, along with Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen, AC Milan, Bologna and Rennes.

They suggest that Pep Guardiola’s side were likely keeping an eye on Martin Zubimendi, who came on at halftime during the 2-1 win in Denmark.

The Spanish international has been on the club’s radar for several months but it was believed that the player was closing in on a move to another Premier League club.

Arsenal are confident that they have won the race for the City target

It was reported last month by the Daily Mail that the Gunners had all but wrapped a deal to sign Zubimendi ahead of the summer.

Mikel Arteta’s side are said to have worked hard to persuade Zubimendi into making the move to the Emirates and they were planning to trigger the €60m (£50m) release clause in his contract.

Zubimendi has made U-Turns on his future before

The 26-year-old was also close to joining another English team before deciding against the move. Liverpool thought they had their man last year before he decided to stay in Spain.

It is not known whether City are hoping that Zubimendi will make another U-Turn but the fact that they are still sending scouts to watch him play suggests that his switch to Arsenal is not cut and dry.

While there are no suggestions that the Premier League champions are making a concerted effort to hijack his move to the Gunners at this stage, it is definitely a situation to keep an eye on.

Read our exclusive interview with Shaun Wright-Phillips. He talks about why City should still make the top 4 this season.