Former Manchester City youth chief Jim Cassell has revealed how close they came to signing Eden Hazard as a junior.

Cassell admits they almost had a deal for the Chelsea star over the line.

He told the Daily Mail: "The talent is in picking the best potential. Too many scout on obvious talent. Anyone can do that. It's not where they are now, it's where they will be when they are 23.

"Our first priority was to develop the game for our club and then for our own nation. So our emphasis was English first and then UK. After that we would look around.

"Eden Hazard was one of our target players. He was the same age group as Greg Cunningham. We got Greg but couldn't get Hazard as his dad wanted something extra I think. But Greg is still in the Premier League with Cardiff so it worked out for us and for him. I actually think that's fantastic."