Pep’s El of a deal for Evans
MANCHESTER CITY will sell Eliaquim Mangala on the cheap to boost their chances of landing West Brom star Jonny Evans.
Pep Guardiola remains determined to land Evans – despite having an initial £18m bid rejected by the Baggies.
Etihad chiefs are expected to make an improved offer of up to £25m for the Northern Ireland international.
Guardiola knows he must get rid of Mangala before the transfer window closes to make room in his squad for a new defender.
Keen
Inter Milan are keen on signing the Frenchman, who has been told he has no future at City.
They want to recoup as much as possible of the £42m they paid for him when he joined them from Porto in 2014.
But with Guardiola so keen to sign Evans as his replacement, City could be forced to flog Mangala for as little as £20m to push through a deal with the Italian outfit.
The City boss is keen to add cover at the back and has made no secret of his desire to land a central defender.
He wants the option of playing three at the back this season and has identified Evans as one potential answer, but West Brom rejected two bids from Leicester for Evans before rebuffing City’s approach.
Baggies boss Tony Pulis made Evans his club captain following Darren Fletcher’s exit to Stoke.
He is desperate to keep him but knows a £25m bid would be difficult to turn down, considering the defender is keen on going to the Etihad.
Evans, 29, doesn’t fit the profile of the other big-name targets Guardiola has landed this summer.
City fans have hit out on social media at the plan to sign Evans, as he progressed from Manchester United’s youth team before going on to make 198 senior appearances for them.
But this will not deter Evans from a move back to Manchester, where he knows he can double his wages and play in the Champions League.