Manchester City is willing to pay up to €20 million for Borussia Dortmund winger Mathis Albert, according to Maximilian Wessing of Sport Bild.

The report says Dortmund has received signals of City’s willingness to spend that amount on the 17-year-old. It does not detail a new formal bid, with the Premier League club continuing to explore how a transfer could be arranged.

City’s interest stretches back well beyond Albert’s recent international breakthrough. Sport Bild says former Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl received calls about the winger around a year ago, and the English club has continued to assess its options.

Albert turns 18 in May, with the report identifying next summer as a possible opportunity for a move.

There has already been an approach. Ryan Tolmich of GOAL reported on October 10 that City tried to buy Albert during the summer, while Dortmund remained committed to keeping him in its first-team plans.

The American has moved quickly into senior soccer. He appeared off the bench in Dortmund’s 4-0 Bundesliga win over Freiburg in April, sharing the occasion with fellow youngster Samuele Inacio as Niko Kovac gave both players an opportunity.

His international debut followed in September. Albert helped the United States beat Peru 4-1, winning the penalty that Malik Tillman converted shortly after coming on. Mauricio Pochettino praised the contribution of his young debutants as he began building toward the next World Cup cycle.

Albert then scored against Chile and earned his first senior international start in the 1-0 victory over Canada earlier this month.

Dortmund’s plans still include a larger role for him. Speaking before the league meeting with Werder Bremen, Kovac said Albert was showing encouraging signs in training and would receive more minutes. The winger had already completed 90 minutes in the 5-0 German Cup win over HEBC Hamburg, offering an early opportunity to make his case for further starts.