Manchester City have Valencia defender Adil Rami lined up in case their move for Atletico Madrid's Martin Demichelis falls through.
City and Atleti have agreed a fee of close to £4million for the 32-year old Argentine but it is believed that Manuel Pellegrini would rather spend £6m on 27-year old Rami.
City are keen to bring in a new centre-back as captain Vincent Kompany and the promising Matija Nastasic recover from injury with Pellegrini determined to secure a quality defender before the close of the transfer window.
