Holgate a target for Guardiola
the campaign, and the continued patchy form of John Stones.
Laporte was injured again in City’s 2-1 win at Real Madrid on Wednesday, while Stones did not even make the 18-man squad, despite being fit.
City could even offer Stones, 25, back to his former club Everton as part of any deal to take Holgate to the Etihad Stadium.
Guardiola has been forced to deploy midfielder Fernandinho in central defence for much of the season, alongside Nicolas Otamendi, and has made recruiting defensive reinforcements a priority this summer.
City’s recruitment team have been keeping a close eye on Holgate, ahead of a potential bid for the England Under-21 star, who has thrived since Ancelotti took over at Goodison Park in December.
Holgate has been with the Toffees for five years, joining from Barnsley for £2m in 2015.
He spent the second half of last season on loan at West Brom, where he showcased his versatility by playing at right-back.
His ability to play in several positions has particularly impressed City, who face a big summer in terms of signing the right players to challenge runaway Premier League leaders Liverpool for the title next season.
RODRI claimed Manchester City should have inflicted an even heavier defeat on Real Madrid.
Pep Guardiola’s side earned an historic 2-1 win at the Bernabeu, which has put them in pole position to advance to the quarter-finals.
But £62.8million midfielder Rodri said City had let Real off lightly and could have won by a bigger margin when the Spanish giants tired late in the game.
“They dropped in the last 10 minutes,” he said. “We detected that, and if the game had lasted a little longer we could have done more damage.
“But it’s a very good result for us. We showed strength when things went badly and managed to do something that we have lacked all season, which is hold on in the bad moments.
“We demonstrated we have personality and did not lose our shape or control. They went 1-0 up and we didn’t let the game pass us by.”
Despite City having plundered two precious away goals to take into the return leg on March 17, Rodri (above) echoed Guardiola in warning against the danger of thinking the tie was already won.
“It’s a good result but it’s not done at all, knowing the opponent we have before us,” he said. “We will approach the game with the greatest seriousness. We know this is still open.
“We’re not here just to get through the round but to try to win the Champions League, so we still need to improve.”
Rodri also claimed that Real are less daunting to face after losing Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus.
“Those kind of players, who tip the balance, you notice when they are not there,” he said. “But Madrid have good midfielders and impose on you more. They are still a very hard team.”
AYMERIC LAPORTE has given Manchester City a problem after being ruled out for several weeks with a hamstring injury.
The France defender broke down in the first half of City’s 2-1 last-16 win at Real Madrid on Wednesday. It means the centreback (right) will miss Sunday’s
Carabao Cup final as well as the Manchester derby at Old Trafford on March 8.
Laporte, 25, is also a doubt for the return leg of City’s tie against
Real as Pep Guardiola’s men bid to reach the quarter-finals.