Manchester City are reportedly eyeing a swoop for Sevilla goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, who caught the eye on the world's stage in Qatar with his performances for Morocco at the World Cup.

What's the word?

According to reports from Spain, City have approached Sevilla regarding the availability of their first-choice shot-stopper, with City's reserve option Stefan Ortega in the public eye after his questionable positioning for Southampton's second goal in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday evening.

Any deal for the experienced shot-stopper is likely to cost around €30m (£26m), with his stock undeniably high after his displays in Qatar.

Ederson is still only 29 so it seems unlikely that the Moroccan would arrive as the Brazilian's replacement, although he could add some fierce competition in between the sticks for Pep Guardiola, when considering his recent displays for both club and country.

Guardiola would love him

Guardiola has long preferred to use a goalkeeper who is comfortable with the ball at his feet, with Joe Hart making way for Claudio Bravo and Ederson in his time at City, while Manuel Neuer and Victor Valdes both excelled in that part of the game during the Spanish manager's time with Bayern Munich and Barcelona.

It is easy to see why he might be interested in Bounou therefore, as the 31-year-old scores impressively with regard to number of touches and goal-kicks according to FBref, while WhoScored also shows that he has registered a 78% pass success rate in the Champions League this season, which would only improve should he become accustomed to Guardiola's set up at City.

Moroccan teammate and former Wolverhampton Wanderers ace Romain Saiss was full of praise for his 'keeper after he starred in their penalty shootout win over Spain at the World Cup.

He said:

"It is amazing for him. He had a heroic game today, not only during the penalties. He just wanted to show why he was named best La Liga goalkeeper last season. He is a great keeper, he proved it against Spain. We owe him a lot today."

Bounou was also praised for some "monster" saves against Manchester United in the Europa League in 2020, which will already serve him well in the eyes of City fans.

While City are unlikely to make a knee-jerk decision and get rid of Ortega after one mistake, it is easy to see why Citizens director of football Txiki Begiristain might be interested in signing a top-quality goalkeeper such as 'Bono'.