Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has confirmed that he is keen to bring in Everton defender John Stones to the club this summer.

Stones has been attracting the attention of some of Europe’s biggest clubs for the last year with Chelsea failing to sign the centre-back last summer.

The England international was the subject of two bids from Chelsea but they were unable to tempt Everton, who are priced at 11.00 to finish in the top-four in the Premier League, into a sale despite offering £30million, while Stones also handed in a transfer request.

Reports claim that Everton are holding out for a fee of £50million this summer and City will have to dig deep to acquire the former Barnsley man.

The 22-year-old is known for his ability on the ball and is seemingly perfectly suited to Guardiola’s passing philosophy.

Guardiola admitted it’s no secret he is keen to win the race for Stones as he looks to put his stamp on the Etihad outfit by the end of the transfer window.

“Everyone knows we are going to try,” Guardiola said. “We will see what happens. I am very happy with the squad we have.

“Normally central defenders are strong in the air and aggressive.

But we need to have a good build-up to create easy passes in the midfield so they can create good passes for the strikers.

“I believe when the ball goes from the central defender to the striker as quickly as possible, it comes as quickly as possible back.

“That is why the players in that area need quality. By 31 August we will have the right squad to play how we want.”