When Salford City line up against Manchester City on Saturday evening in the FA Cup third round, all eyes will be on Ammies goalkeeper Matty Young to see if he can keep the Premier League champions at bay.

The 18-year-old shot-stopper, who is on a season-long loan at the Peninsula Stadium from Championship side Sunderland, has made headlines recently for a string of excellent performances for the League Two side.

Young kept his sixth clean sheet in a row in Salford's 1-0 win over MK Dons on Saturday and he has not conceded a goal in over 540 minutes of football.

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As such, the England under-20 international goalkeeper is attracting the attention of some big clubs and, if reports in The Sun over the weekend are to be believed, Manchester City are chief among his growing list of admirers.

City are believed to have monitored Young, who stands at six foot three inches tall, for a while now and, incredibly, they now have a chance to see him first-hand when he is tasked with keeping out the likes of Erling Haaland on Saturday evening at the Etihad Stadium.

It would be a signing with the future in mind, given Ederson and Stefan Ortega both very much remain City's senior goalkeeping options, but it remains to be seen whether Young would fancy the challenge of moving to the Etihad Stadium.

Young spent last season on loan with National League North side Darlington and he has made the step up to League Two look seamless, with Karl Robinson's side boasting the joint best defence in the division.

Any move in January would cost City, though, with Sunderland tying Young down to a new contract until 2028 back in November. Speaking at the time, the Black Cats' sporting director Kristjaan Speakman said: “We’re pleased with Matty’s progress at present and thrilled that he has extended his contract through to 2028.

"His recent England Under-20 debut at 17 years of age provides a nice reference point of where he is currently and through continued hard work and dedication, he can go on to achieve much more.”

Such is Sunderland's belief in Young, Tony Mowbray handed him his first start for the first team in pre-season back in 2023 when he was just 16.

Young kept goal in a 3-2 win over New Mexico United on Sunderland's summer tour of the USA and Mowbray hailed his performance that night as 'amazing'.

His path to the first team is currently blocked by another homegrown goalkeeper in former England under-21 international Anthony Patterson.

The 24-year-old is regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the Championship and has Premier League suitors of his own. Nonetheless, Young is confident he can establish himself as Sunderland's number one in the long term.

“Signing this deal until 2028 means so much to me because I love this club," he said back in November. "I have been here for more than a decade and I am delighted to extend my stay.

“Last year, I had my first experience of travelling and training with the first team, which was a huge milestone. Since then, I’ve gained valuable experience on loan at Darlington and now at Salford City.

“My focus is on continuing to work hard, and I hope that one day I’ll get my chance to play for Sunderland.”

The decision for Young if City follow through on their interest is whether he believes his future is best served remaining at Sunderland to fulfil that dream or with the Premier League champions.

Either way, he will be keen to prove exactly why he is being talked about as a future England international when he lines up against Pep Guardiola's side in front of the BBC cameras on Saturday evening.