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When Manchester City first started to show interested in signing Jonny Evans from West Bromwich Albion, everyone started laughing. “Wait, Jonny Evans?” was the question in most people’s mind, and it really seemed like a crazy rumor.
It turns out this isn’t a crazy rumor, with the Blues having two bids rejected last and getting ready to make another one. And it’s not just City who want Evans, with two Premier League clubs having joined the race over the last few days.
First it’s Leicester City who showed interest. They already offered £10 million at the beginning of the window, but West Brom said no and the Foxes signed Harry Maguire from Hull City instead. But Leicester still want the player and have made a new, improved bid, according to Simon Stone of the BBC:
New bid from @LCFC in for Jonny Evans. £23m. Evans linked up with Northern Ireland, who are training @ManCity.
— Simon Stone (@sistoney67) August 28, 2017
Stone reports that West Brom have rejected Leicester’s new bid, with the club saying the new offer “is substantially below their valuation”. West Brom have reportedly set Evans’ price tag at £30 million, and only City look prepared to match that.
But Arsenal could also come in for Evans, according to a report from James Ducker of the Telegraph:
Arsenal join race to sign Jonny Evans from West Brom ahead of transfer deadline day | @TelegraphDucker https://t.co/z5s6aZvb2n
— Telegraph Sport (@TelegraphSport) August 29, 2017
There is no mention of a specific price Arsenal would be willing to pay, but Ducker does mention that Leicester have very little chance of signing Evans and it’ll be City and Arsenal battling out for the 29-year-old defender.
And the Blues are considering offering Eliaquim Mangala as part of the Evans deal:
There's a chance Man City will include Mangala loan in their bid to sign Jonny Evans from West Brom
— Dean Jones (@DeanJonesBR) August 29, 2017
West Brom might be tempted given they’ll need a replacement for Evans and Tony Pulis wants a left footed center-back, and having just lost Kevin Wimmer to Stoke City this week, Pulis could settle for Mangala.
The most interesting thing about all of this is that Jonny Evans and the rest of the Northern Ireland national team are preparing for their upcoming World Cup Qualifiers AT THE CFA, the same place where a certain team named Manchester City happen to train.
If City close a deal for Evans before Thursday, Jonny would be right there at the CFA doing medicals and signing his contract. It’s easy logistics, right?