Manchester City are expected to discover before the end of the month if they will face sanctions for allegedly breaching rules around the signing of Argentine teenager Benjamin Garre.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) held a hearing last July at which Argentine club Velez Sarsfield claimed City acted unethically by approaching Garre when he was still 15 and then flouted transfer rules by signing the attacking midfielder days after his 16th birthday.

Fifa had upheld City’s argument that Garre was free to join them after his 16th birthday because he holds an Italian passport but Velez alleged that Fifa rules only allow players under 18 to move between clubs in European countries.

City face the prospect of being banned from registering players for the next two transfer windows if CAS rule in Velez’s favour although the runaway Premier League leaders believe they are on strong ground, not least since Fifa approved the signing of Garre.

CAS were originally due to return their verdict in the autumn but the case has taken much longer to conclude. However, the hearing panel are now expected to announce their decision in the next few weeks. A spokesperson for CAS told The Daily Telegraph: “The arbitral award is currently being finalised. It should be notified to the parties by the end of March.”