Manchester City have reportedly had a bid of £62m for Atletico Madrid defender Jose Gimenez rejected by the La Liga giants.
Despite already securing the signature of Nathan Ake from Bournemouth, City manager Pep Guardiola is believed to be eyeing further defensive reinforcements ahead of the new Premier League campaign.
The Citizens have supposedly identified Napoli's Kalidou Koulibaly as their top target, with a recent report suggesting that the centre-back's agent has arrived in England to discuss a potential move to the Etihad.
Nevertheless, Guardiola's men are reportedly keeping tabs on other players should a deal for Koulibaly fall through, but La Gazzetta dello Sport claim that Atletico are in no position to sell Gimenez at the moment.
The report claims that manager Diego Simeone is desperate to keep hold of the 25-year-old, who supposedly has a £109m release clause in his current deal, which runs until 2023.
The Uruguay international struggled with injury during the most recent campaign but still managed to register 27 appearances across all competitions for Atletico.
Ben Knapton
