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 today, 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."

Barnsley boss Simon Davey was happy with how his side coped against City.

Davey said: "I'm pleased with the performance. When you look at the City team and the quality they had on the bench, you have to view this as excellent preparation excellent preparation.

"City kept the ball very well. We were tempted to throw two balls on at some stages. It was an education as a manager and I'm very proud of my players."

"The result means we've gone through pre-season undefeated, but that means nothing if we don't get a result at Sheffield Wednesday next Saturday."

Davey singled out the performances of goalkeeper Luke Steele, Jamaican trialist O'Neil Thompson and strikers Jon Macken and Kayode Odejayi for special praise.

"Luke Steele was superb," said Davey. "That's why we were able to cash in on Heinz Muller during the summer because we knew we had another top 'keeper waiting in the wings. His save from (Emmanuel) Adebayor was world class.

"O'Neil Thompson did very well. He's a centre-back who can play in midfield - he's played in both positions for Jamaica. Injuries to Anderson De Silva and Hugo Colace meant he had to play in midfield. It was pretty much sink or swim today against a team like Manchester City. I thought he did very well and he swam.

"Jon Macken and Kayode Odejayi linked up well and caused City problems, then to have Daniel (Bogdanovic) come off the bench and score gives me a nice problem."