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Manchester City bid £20m plus Bridge for Baines
MANCHESTER City are ready to offer Everton £20million – and Wayne Bridge – for full-back Leighton Baines.
Arsenal, Liverpool and Bayern Munich have all been monitoring the 26-year-old defender, but City hope their huge bid blows the opposition out of the water.
City boss Roberto Mancini has decided that Baines , who is pushing Ashley Cole for a regular spot in the England side, can help take the Eastlands club on to a higher level.
Baines is a year into a five-year contract at Goodison Park, but City hope the chance of a bigger pay packet – plus Champions League football – will appeal.
City also know that Everton are due to make payments to their bank in the summer. That will leave them hard pressed to resist big offers for their stars, but boss David Moyes (left) doesn’t want to lose any main members of his squad.
Relations between Everton and City were strained over Joleon Lescott’s £24m move to Eastlands.
But City are confident that, as in the case of Lescott, their mountain of cash will win the day in their quest for Baines.
Meanwhile, Manchester United are eying Everton’s England Under 21 star Jack Rodwell.