Jonny Evans can join Manchester City if Pep Guardiola pays £23.5m for the defender
Man City have been given a price if they want to sign the defender from West Brom
PEP GUARDIOLA has been told Jonny Evans can be his man for £23.5 million.
West Bromwich Albion are braced for a firm bid from the Premier League leaders in the next 24 hours or so and are resigned to losing their captain and keystone defender.
Arsenal remain keen on Evans but are dithering over stepping up with a concrete offer for the player and could well lose out.
Evans, 30, would prefer to join City having graduated through the academy at their crosstown rivals Manchester United and making more than 130 appearances for them.
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City also failed in their attempts to sign him last summer.
Evans would be happy to join Arsenal too and acknowledges this month could be a pivotal moment that would set him up for the rest of his career.
West Brom Alan Pardew has reluctantly admitted he is set to lose Evans, who scored the opening goal in the club’s vital victory over Brighton at the weekend.
The Baggies went on to end a 20-game winless run but are still in a relegation dogfight.
City will try to get the price lowered to around £20m in order to do business and negotiations still have some way to go to reach a suitable compromise but it looks as if Evans will be on his way within a week.