Jonny Evans made 198 appearances for Manchester United (Picture: Getty)

Manchester City are set to make a shock move for West Brom defender Jonny Evans, according to the BBC.

The Northern Ireland international made 198 appearances for Manchester United and was a cornerstone of the club’s most recent title-winning side.

The BBC claims talks are already underway between City and West Brom, who had fielded a £10million bid from Leicester for the 29-year-old earlier in the transfer window.

West Brom managed to keep hold of Evans last summer amid serious interest from Arsenal but are understood to be more open to a sale 12 months on given the player has just two years left on his contract.

Evans was rumoured to be joining Arsenal last summer (Picture: Getty)
Pep Guardiola has already spent close to £200million already this summer (Picture: Getty)

City have spent heavily this summer adding to their already prolific forward line with the signing of Bernardo Silva and significantly strengthened their defence in the shape of goalkeeper Ederson, as well as full-backs Kyle Walker, Benjamin Mendy and Danilo.

Pep Guardiola is keen to add competition at centre-half, however, with doubts surrounding Vincent Kompany’s ability to handle a 38-game Premier League season.

The former Barcelona manager missed out on the signature of Leonardo Bonucci who joined AC Milan, while he has so far resisted the temptation to enter into a bidding war with Liverpool and Chelsea for Virgil van Dijk.

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