Manchester City sent scouts to watch Villarreal’s Europa League quarter-final tie against Sparta Prague on Thursday night and were paying special attention to defender Eric Bailly, according to the Daily Mirror.
The 21-year-old is a target for incoming manager Pep Guardiola, who is planning a defensive overhaul in the summer.
Previous reports have suggested that Martin Demichelis and Eliaquim Mangala could be among the casualties of a summer exodus, which could now see Bailly replace one of them.
Bailly was an ever-present part of Ivory Coast’s 2015 African Cup of Nations-winning campaign, appearing in all six of their matches alongside City duo Yaya Toure and Wilfried Bony.
Despite only being at Estadio El Madrigal for 15 months, Guardiola is confident that he can convince the ex-Espanyol centre-back to quit La Liga for a Premier League venture.
The Sky Blues’ defensive issues were reinforced with two mistakes in Wednesday night’s 2-2 draw with French giants Paris Saint-Germain that prevented City from taking a lead back to the Etihad Stadium ahead of next week’s second leg.
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