Report: United steps up interest in Monaco's Mbappe, Bakayoko

Manchester United has joined the growing list of European giants interested in AS Monaco's promising young forward Kylian Mbappe.

The Premier League side is believed to have sent head scout Marcel Bout to gather information on the 18-year-old, as well as his Monaco teammate Tiemoue Bakayoko, sources revealed to ESPNFC Mark Ogden.

Both players were instrumental in helping Monaco advance past Manchester City in the Champions League, with Mbappe opening the scoring while Bakayoko's late header saw the Ligue 1 leaders advance to the quarter-finals following a 6-6 aggregate win on away goals.

Although Monaco vice president is hopeful of retaining the forward, United manager Jose Mourinho has identified Mbappe as one of his top attacking targets while Bakayoko, 22, has previously been looked at as a long-term solution up the middle of the park.

Ogden reports Bout was at the Stade Louis II on Wednesday and was focused on scouting the two French players as Monaco overturned a 5-3 loss with a 3-1 victory to knock Pep Guardiola's men out of the Champions League.

Related: How Guardiola's tactics condemned City to Champions League exit

Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Arsenal are also understood to have monitored Mbappe as he enjoys a breakout season with 15 goals in all competitions.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger compared him to Thierry Henry, saying the talent is similar but questioned whether Mbappe has the same motivation and desire to succeed in a similar fashion as the north London side's all-time leading scorer.

Real Madrid attempted to secure Mbappe's signature when he was invited to the team's training base as a 14-year-old, reports Didac Peyret from Sport. Instead, Mbappe opted to sign with Monaco where he believed younger players would get a better chance to play first-team football.