Matteo Guendouzi is a promising France U20 defensive midfielder

Manchester City and Tottenham are both keen on FC Lorient youngster Matteo Guendouzi, Sky Sports News understands.

The 18-year-old defensive-midfielder is being monitored closely by both clubs despite currently plying his trade in Ligue 2.

Sky Sports News revealed last week that Spurs are scouting for a future replacement for Mousa Dembele, who is about to enter the final 18 months of his contract.

Both Pep Guardiola and Mauricio Pochettino are keen on Guendouzi

And Guendouzi is potentially of interest along with Geoffrey Kondogbia, who is having a successful season on loan at Valencia from Inter Milan.

Manager Mauricio Pochettino has urged his club to look seriously at doing more transfer business in January in order to beat their rivals to key targets.

He said last week: "Maybe we need to sign players in January and bring them in six months before. If not, we're going to compete in the same period as City, United, Liverpool and Chelsea, and we're going to struggle to bring in the players we want."

Guendouzi has established himself in Lorient's midfield this term

Guendouzi is a France U20 international who broke into Lorient's team in the French top flight last season. He made eight appearances last term and has established himself firmly into the first team this year.

Guendouzi was in Paris Saint-Germain's academy until a switch to Lorient in 2014.