MANCHESTER City have joined the queue of top clubs showing interest in Everton prodigy Jack Rodwell. (Daily Mail)Champions Manchester United have identified the Everton midfielder as a long-term target, with manager Sir Alex Ferguson asking about Rodwell's personality and prospects.

MANCHESTER City have joined the queue of top clubs showing interest in Everton prodigy Jack Rodwell. (Daily Mail)

Champions Manchester United have identified the Everton midfielder as a long-term target, with manager Sir Alex Ferguson asking about Rodwell's personality and prospects.

Now it has emerged that City manager Mark Hughes is sending scouts to most Everton games to monitor the 18-year-old's progress.

Rodwell is playing as a central midfielder under David Moyes but has been tipped as a top-class central defender of the future and it is this versatility that has made him such an attractive target for the country's leading clubs.

Hughes is looking for more defensive players after seeing his team's expensive attacking talent undermined this season by uncertainties and deficiencies at the back.

It is unlikely that Rodwell will be targeted by City as early as January, but a bid next summer is a distinct possibility.

Rodwell played for Everton's Under-18s when he was 14 and made his Premier League debut in March last year. He has made 27 appearances for the club so far.