Manchester City are preparing to snap up highly-rated Mexican forward Raul Mendiola, with talks set to be held this weekend.
Teenage forward to meet with Premier League giants on Saturday
Manchester City are preparing to snap up highly-rated Mexican forward Raul Mendiola, with talks set to be held this weekend.
The 17-year-old is currently based in San Bernardino and plays for Alta Loma's Arsenal FC youth side.
He plundered 14 goals in the past season for Arsenal FC and was named US Development Academy U15/16 Player of the Year for a second year in a row.
Unsurprisingly, his talent has not gone unnoticed in Europe, with a number of clubs closely monitoring his situation.
City sent scouts to watch him in action at the 2011 Generation adidas U17 Cup, and were impressed by what they saw.
Mendiola is now set to travel to England to discuss a possible deal with City, with it likely that the Blues will look to send him out on loan if an agreement can be reached.
Excited
"I'm pretty excited," he told
TopDrawerSoccer.com.
"It's one of the top clubs in the world.
"I've been told that there's a possibility that I could be loaned out to (Espanyol) in Spain for a year, or I could stay with Man City."
Having decided that the time is right to step up into the senior ranks, Mendiola has been training with MLS outfit the Los Angeles Galaxy in recent weeks and believes he has benefited from his time with the Californian club.
"Every training session I've had to give it my all," he added.
"I've been working hard, a lot on the defensive side. I'm looking forward to fulfilling my dream."
