Man City confident of landing Stones

Manchester City remain confident of being able to land John Stones from Everton, and are willing to pay up to £40 million for the young England defender, according to reports.

The Mirror is reporting that City are willing to spend as much as £40 million on Stones, although that would fall £10 million short of the Toffees' valuation of the former Barnsley player, as they hold out for a British record fee.

The Mirror is also reporting that new City manager Pep Guardiola is monitoring Juventus' Leonardo Bonucci as a back up option if Everton are unwilling to compromise on their valuation of Stones. Although, any deal to sign Bonucci would be difficult to pull off, as the Italian champions will be extremely unlikely to want to part ways with their star defender, and are under no financial need to sell -- particularly if they sell Paul Pogba to Manchester United for £100 million.

City have already been busy in the transfer window, having secured the signings of Spanish winger Nolito from Celta Vigo, teenage Ukranian midfielder Alexandr Zinchenko from FC Ufa, and German playmaker Ilkay Gundogan from Borussia Dortmund.

Guardiola is also thought to be close to sealing the signings of Brazilian forward Gabriel Jesus from Palmeiras and winger Leroy Sané from Schalke 04, as the Catalan tactician continues to bolster the squad he inherited from Manuel Pellegrini.