15 May 2011 08:40:00
EPL – Everton vs Aston Villa,Leighton Baines and Phil Jagielka
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Manchester City are stepping up their pursuit of Everton defender Leighton Baines, according to The Mirror.
The 26-year-old has been linked with a number of clubs after an impressive season on Merseyside, with Bayern Munich and rivals Liverpool also reported to be interested.
But now City, who ended their 35-year trophy drought by beating Stoke City in the FA Cup final on Saturday, are reportedly set to make a formal £18 million move for the England international.
City look set to allow left-back Wayne Bridge to leave in the summer, while Jerome Boateng, Aleksandr Kolarov and Pablo Zabaleta have as yet been unable to cement their place as automatic first-choice in the position.
Should a move for Baines materialise, the former Wigan man would become the second Everton defender to move to Eastlands in two years, with Joleon Lescott making a controversial £24m switch in 2009.
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Manchester City to make £18m bid for Everton defender Leighton Baines – report