It’s not the only report of the Blues looking to strengthen the back line this morning, either.
First to Italy, though where Forza Italian Football write: “The Premier League duo of Chelsea and Manchester City are reportedly keen to bring Juventus defender Leonardo Bonucci to England during the summer transfer window.
“Antonio Conte, who will take over at Stamford Bridge after EURO 2016 worked closely with Bonucci at Juventus, while on the other hand, Guardiola has made his admiration of the Bianconeri defender known in the past.
“As reported by the Sun, the two clubs will look to open negotiations for the Italy international over the coming weeks. However, Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri is unlikely to want one of his key players to leave the club.
“Bonucci was a crucial feature of the Old Lady side last season, who went on to lift their fifth successive Scudetto title, as well as defending their crown as Coppa Italia champions.”
Elsewhere there are a number of reports suggesting John Stones is closing in on a move for John Stones.
Though the stories seem to emanate from a Daily Mail story, Football Fancast write: “John Stones turned down a move to Barcelona because is due to move to Manchester City, it has been reported by the Daily Mail.
“Stones has been linked with a move to Barcelona for a long period of time, but the Mail have reported that Stones is believed by Barcelona to be moving to Manchester City after he turned down a healthy contract offer from the Catalan club.
“The Everton defender is currently at Euro 2016 but experienced a dip in form towards the second half of the campaign, but it appears that his failure to perform at a consistently high level hasn’t damaged the interest of the world’s biggest clubs.
“As Manchester United recently signed one of the best young defenders in Eric Bailly, it looks like Manchester City are aiming to match their local rivals with the acquisition of Everton’s superstar defensive ball-player. Could this move spell the end for Mangala?
On to matters international and it looks like Raheem Sterling might have won a place in the England starting XI after a sparkling run of form in the warm-up matches.
With some experiments working – and some not – it appears Raheem has edged ahead of others in his battle to start with The Independent reporting: “Roy Hodgson is planning to name Raheem Sterling and Adam Lallana in his starting line-up for England’s Euro 2016 opener against Russia.
England face Leonid Slutsky’s Russians in the Group B opener in Marseille aiming to secure the victory that would put the team on the brink of qualification for the knockout stages with a win against Wales next Thursday.
And Hodgson is prepared to go with an attacking line-up and exploit the pace of Sterling alongside forwards Wayne Rooney and Harry Kane.
Sterling’s selection is likely to come at the expense of Leicester City forward Jamie Vardy, who struggled to make an impression in a three man forward line against Portugal at Wembley last week.
Returning to Italy and Inter’s long-standing interest in Yaya Toure shows no sign of ending – if we can believe the Italian media which in this instance is Italian Football Daily.
They write: “Inter will be one of the more active Serie A clubs on the market as they prepare to try to return to the Champions League.
“Fourth place was good, but not good enough. The Nerazzurri’s DS Piero Ausilio is searching to reinforce the club’s roster this summer to make it to Europe’s prestige competition. In order to do so, the club will meet again with the agent of Yaya Toure.
“Inter are depending on Mancini’s past link with the Ivorian as they cannot afford to pay him the same wage he is making in Manchester. However they could offer a more competitive performance based bonus package.
“As of now, the club will look to acquire him on a free if his agents are able convince Manchester City to release him.”
And that’s all for this morning – City Now on our beta site will continue to update you with the latest breaking news throughout the day.
