PEP GUARDIOLA CONFIDENT OF LANDING EVERTON'S JOHN STONES AS LEONARDO BONUCCI WAITS IN THE WINGS

 

Manchester City are confident of buying John Stones from Everton but may acquire Leonardo Bonucci from Juventus only if Pep Guardiola is unsure about Vincent Kompany’s fitness.
City are on tour in China, where they trained at Shenzhen Stadium on Wednesday afternoon before Thursday’s friendly against Borussia Dortmund at Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre.
Stones is coveted by Guardiola, who views the 22-year-old as precisely the type of ball-playing central defender he wants for his City side. The club have been pursuing Stones throughout the summer and the player wishes to make the move from Merseyside to team up with the Catalan manager.
The sticking point is the price, with Everton valuing the player at around £50m. City value him closer to the £42m they paid for Eliaquim Mangala from Porto two summers ago and the feeling inside the club is that Everton will ultimately settle for a fee around £45-46m. City would be willing to offer Wilfried Bony as a makeweight in the transfer but it is believed Everton want a cash-only deal.
Kompany, the club captain, is in China with City as he continues his rehabilitation from a thigh injury, the latest in a serious of problems that have plagued the central defender. Guardiola is monitoring the 30-year-old closely and is cautiously optimistic regarding his progress. If that continues and Kompany is ready to make his comeback soon after the new campaign starts City may drop their interest in Bonucci, especially if Stones has been signed.
The captain’s return would put Mangala’s long-term future at the Etihad Stadium under threat and could mean the France international is sent out on loan. Guardiola also wants to assess Jason Denayer, the 21-year-old centre-back.

When in charge of Barcelona and Bayern Munich, Guardiola often deployed a central midfielder in central defence, with Yaya Touré, Javier Mascherano, Javi Martínez and Xabi Alonso among those moved into the back four. Guardiola on Wednesday said he is open to employing the same tactical switch at City and picked out Fernandinho as a midfielder within his playing ranks who would be happy to be fielded at centre-back.