City, though, are likely to pursue a deal through to completion given their travails in landing Guardiola’s top defensive targets so far this summer.
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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has confirmed his interest in signing Everton defender John Stones.
Sky sources understand the Toffees are asking for £50m for the England worldwide centre-back, but City are hoping to secure Stones’s services for significantly less. (Picture: Getty) Leroy Sane of Schalke has already expressed his desire to move this summer.
Midfielder Fabian Delph, who joined his boss to meet the press before Wednesday’s workout, said City’s players knew what they were in for when Guardiola signed on.
“You know, I know, everyone knows we would like to have him, but at the moment he’s a player from Schalke”.
“Tomorrow we are so happy to finally play here in China”.
“I am very happy with the squad we have”, Guardiola added.
Aleksandr Kolarov has moved from left-back to play in the centre of defence alongside Argentina worldwide Nicolas Otamendi and academy product Tosin Adarabioyo in City’s two preseason friendlies.
Pep Guardiola has revealed that Samir Nasri has not played in pre-season because he is overweight and that he has told the Manchester City player he risks a repeat of last season’s injury troubles unless he gets fit.
Chelsea and Manchester United were also linked with a move for Stones, who’s projected to be the next star English defender, despite receiving a bunch of criticism and losing his starting spot at the Toffees last season.
City’s new manager hopes the 29-year-old Nasri will have lost the excess weight in two weeks.
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“The players on the pitch, they are fit, their weight is in the right place to run 90 minutes; like Tosin (Adarabioyo), or Fernandinho or (Aleksandar) Kolarov, or the other ones”. “By 31 August we will have the right squad to play how we want”. We need time and in the end we are going to do it. I know Fabregas is a good man, a good boy and is not a player to have this type of situation. “Every training session they try, to learn and they fight”.
