Real Madrid are set to rival Manchster United for €45m rated Sporting Lisbon midfielder William Carvalho in the summer.

Reports from Le 10 Sport claim that Real sent scouts to watch Carvalho in action as Sporting took on Gil Vicente in the weekend. The news was also confirmed by Portuguese newspaper ‘A BOLA‘.

The 22 year old is widely regarded as one of the hottest prospects in football, and his performances over the last 12 months has drawn a host of interest from major European clubs.

Carvalho has scored four goals in 26 appearances for Sporting this season. Despite his tender age, the Portuguese possesses immense maturity and discipline, and can pull strings in midfield with his dynamic ability on the ball.

Manchester United, Malaga and Arsenal have also been tracking Carvalho’s progress. Sporting have accepted that they will have to sell Carvalho sooner or later, probably this summer, but they are admant that they want to find an adequate replacement before letting him go.

We had earlier reported that United were already plotting a summer swoop for Carvalho, and things could get interesting as his representative Jorge Mendes is also Cristiano Ronaldo and Fabio Coentrao’s agent.