Manchester City manager Mark Hughes has confirmed the club's interest in Leeds teenager Fabian Delph.
The 19-year-old midfielder has attracted interest from Premier League clubs for some time and was pulled out of United's friendly with Burnley on Saturday, with speculation growing that he will become the latest player to move to Eastlands.
"We have an interest in the situation," said Hughes, following City's 1-1 friendly draw with Barnsley at Oakwell.
"He is a young player who has been brought to our attention. I'm not sure where we are up to with that because obviously I have been busy with the game today."
In an open game with chances for both sides, Barnsley looked to have snatched the win when Daniel Bogdanovic raced through the visitors' defence to slam home seven minutes from time, only for substitute Martin Petrov to convert Stephen Ireland's cross from close range in the 88th minute.
Summer signings Carlos Tevez, Roque Santa Cruz and Gareth Barry were all absent from the City line-up, and while Tevez and Barry are expected back in action in the coming days, Santa Cruz is set to miss the start of the season with an ongoing knee complaint.
"Carlos is a couple of days away," said Hughes.
"Hopefully we can get him some game time this week but that might not be possible. It's not ideal but we won't rush him.
"Roque will be a little bit longer. But as you saw today we have options up front so we will not rush him. With Gareth it's simply a case of bumps and bruises."
Debutant Kolo Toure left the action at Oakwell after an hour, but Hughes explained that the withdrawal of the defender was only a precaution.
"Kolo just had some discomfort with a bit of cramp so we felt there was no point risking him at this stage."
Long-term injury victim Michael Johnson was again absent from the City line-up after making his comeback in the first game of their pre-season tour in South Africa, and Hughes admitted the England Under-21 international had suffered a setback in his rehabilitation from abdominal problems during the trip.
Hughes said: "Michael suffered a setback during training in South Africa. But we have got to the bottom of his problem and we think he is a couple of weeks away.
"As we saw in the 45 minutes he played in South Africa, it will be like having a new player when he comes back."
