CITY IN RESCUE BID FOR EXCELSIOR

MANCHESTER CITY are ready to spend £3million to save Belgian club Royal Excelsior Mouscron from bankruptcy and use them as a feeder club.

City want to buy into an overseas club to help their top youngsters gain competitive experience.

Excelsior desperately need the investment to bail them out and help them complete their fixtures.

The Belgian FA have set Excelsior a December 4 deadline.

Any deal would also give City first option on Excelsior's young talent, including midfielder Maxime Lestienne, 17, who has attracted interest from Everton.

They want a club like Excelsior, who have twice competed in the UEFA Cup in the last 12 years, to help their youngsters increase their education before playing in City's first team in the way that Manchester United have a deal in place with Belgian side Royal Antwerp.

Arsenal also had a long-standing agreement with Belgian club Beveren. That agreement ended in 2006 when the Gunners were accused but then cleared of breaching FIFA's club ownership rules by loaning Beveren over £1m to secure their financial future.

Super-agent Pini Zahavi is also interested in helping to save the club.

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