Manchester City splash the cash on mega defensive line-up

With their 56 million euro signing of John Stones this week, Pep Guardiola's Manchester City made headlines by converting the Everton centre-back into the most expensive defender in English football history.

However, this shelling out of major cash is merely the evolution of a trend at City, who are currently under the reign of highly-rated coach Guardiola, whose spell at Bayern Munich yielded Bundesliga dominance but no European silverware.

Buying Stones brings the Sky Blues' spending on their back line over the last decade to the whopping sum of over 300 million euros.

No less than 19 players have come to the club for the purposes of defending the Man City goal, many of whom have become forgotten names.

Nicolas Otamendi, Eliaquim Mangala, Martin Demichelis, Maicon, Aleksandar Kolarov, Gael Clichy, Jerome Boateng, and Joleon Lescott are among the notable mentions in this illustrious list, which despite all the resources dedicated to it, has yet to produce a solid defensive identity.

This season, the Catalan boss' priority has been shoring up that problem area, with his eyes on Spaniards Dani Carvajal and Aymeric Laporte to fill in some important gaps.

Nonetheless, those prospects withered and Guardiola's attention became fixed on Stones, who is his kind of defender: one who can play the ball.

The former Barcelona coach's teams are known for being stingey with the ball and rarely allowing other teams a chance to score; while known for their possession play they have always featured high-line defending.

Certainly, a change will be welcome, as last season City's goals against tally was the worst of the top six Premier League clubs.

Chelsea, Barcelona and Real Madrid to fight for John Stones next summer

Real Madrid and Barcelona have joined Chelsea and Manchester City in the race to sign Everton defender John Stones in the summer transfer window. The 21-year-old is regarded as one of the most promising defensive prospects in the country and has attracted interest from clubs across Europe.

The Daily Mail has reported that Rafa Benitez was a huge fan of the player and wanted him at Madrid before being sacked. However, the Spanish giants have maintained their interest and may look to sign him should their transfer ban be repealed. Barcelona are also interested in him, but the £50m ($71m) fee being touted for his services may prove too much for the Catalan club.

In the Premier league, Chelsea are Stones' biggest admirers, having had a £38m ($54m) bid rejected for the player last summer. The Blues' insistence led Stones to hand in a transfer request, but Everton manager Roberto Martinez refused to let him leave, something that has worked in the defender's favour this season, as the defending Champions are struggling in the league.

Manchester City are also interested, with Vincent Kompany struggling to stay fit while Eliaquim Mangala, Nicolas Otamendi and Martin Demichelis have flattered to deceive at the back. City have shown that they are willing to pay top dollar for good English talent as has been the case with Fabian Delph and Raheem Sterling last summer.

Everton have maintained that Stones is not for sale at any price but are likely to be more willing to sell to a Spanish club than anyone in England's top flight when an offer comes their way. The defender is expected to make the England squad and travel to France for the European Championships later this year.

The defender has been earmarked as a likely replacement for John Terry while Barcelonacentre-back Gerard Pique has waxed lyrical over the player's defensive nous in a recent interview.

Man City title-winner ready for January exit… move home expected

Martin Demichelis is set to quit Manchester City in January and return to Argentina to join Rosario Central, according to reports from ESPN.

The 34-year-old followed manager Manuel Pellegrini to the Etihad Stadium from Malaga in 2013 – via a short spell at Atletico Madrid – and, despite some shaky initial showings, he became a cult hero among the Citizens’ supporters as the club clinched the Premier League title.

However, his game time was reduced last year as the Sky Blues struggled to keep pace with Chelsea, and he’s since been out of the XI altogether for the bulk of the current season following the arrival of Argentine compatriot Nicolas Otamendi.

And reports claim that the veteran centre-back, whose contract is set to expire in just over six months’ time, is ready to move home, with Rosario Central the side leading the race.

The South American side are thought to see ageing star as a good replacement for Alejandro Donatti, who is expected to head to Europe in 2016.

Demichelis has enjoyed 12 years plying his trade outside of his home nation, spending time with Bayern Munich, Malaga and City after leaving River Plate as a youngster and has been capped 49 times at senior international level.