Man City’s search for a fourth centre back has landed them to The Hawthorns as they look to snap up Jonny Evans before the window closes.
Many Citizens are confused as to why Pep Guardiola wants the West Brom captain.
The Blues, reportedly have already had a bid rejected for the Northern Irish defender which was said to be in the region of £18 million.
Evans played for City’s fierce rivals Manchester United, winning 3 Premier League title with The Red Devils. Before being sold to West Bromwich Albion in 2015, the 29-year-old amassed over 200 appearances for United.
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Guardiola has been on the lookout for a centre back with names such as those of Virgil Van Dijk and Leonardo Bonucci linked previously. The former has been strictly told that he is not for sale by Southampton whereas the latter has already joined AC Milan in their extravagant summer spending spree.
Middlesbrough defender Ben Gibson has also been linked with a move to the Etihad but the Teeside Club are demanding a fee in the region of £30 million which makes Evans a cheaper alternative.
Guardiola is in dire need of a backup for his first choice defensive trio of John Stones, Vincent Kompany, and Nicolas Otamendi. He has reintroduced Eliaquim Mangala into the scheme of things but it is reported that Inter Milan are interested in signing the 26-year-old. The Frenchman would be a direct replacement for the Nerazzurri for the seemingly Valencia bound Colombian centre back Jeison Murillo.
While Mangala could, in fact, be kept with the club, his sale is likely to generate some revenue for the club which could be needed after their recent splashes in the window.
If the former Porto defender who spent the whole of last season on loan at Valencia in the La Liga is indeed sold, City will be left with only young Tosin Adarabioyo as cover for the centre back. It may just be a step too high for the City Academy graduate and Pep might have to settle for using the likes of Fernandinho as a makeshift centre back.
While he has used that option in the past, this year he would not be wanting to take any chances, given how often the City defence crumbled in the last season.
Evans would bring in much-needed experience and is versatile and can play almost everywhere across the back four.
The report says that Guardiola admires Evans’ ability on the ball and positional sense but West Brom’s official stance is that they are not willing to sell.
