Manchester City Transfer News: Latest Giorgio Chiellini, Samuel Umtiti Rumours

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola reportedly "will not give" up on his pursuit of Juventus centre-back Giorgio Chiellini, who is seen as an alternative recruit to Barcelona defender Samuel Umtiti.

Italian newspaper Tuttosport reported the two defensive targets to be high on Guardiola's list of targets, with a new star centre-back seemingly high in his priorities ahead of the summer transfer window (h/t Sky Sports).

Chiellini appears to be the more difficult deal to pull off between those two, considering he's a veteran of the Old Lady of almost 13 years, having risen to club and international fame since he joined Juve from AS Roma in 2005.

Ivan San Antonio of Sport previously cited a report from the Daily Mail and wrote that both City and rivals Manchester United would be willing to pay Umtiti's €60 million release clause following Virgil van Dijk's recent £75 million move to Liverpool.

Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images

That deal threatens to further distort the market, meaning Umtiti's get-out clause at the Camp Nou all of a sudden looks much more affordable, particularly for a club with the kind of finances City boast.

Guardiola has only recently welcomed John Stones back into his side following a hamstring injury, while club captain Vincent Kompany, 31, has already missed 20 matches this season through injury, per Transfermarkt.

Nicolas Otamendi has risen to the fore at centre-back under Guardiola with Eliaquim Mangala as fourth choice in the position, but it appears the manager is seeking a much higher grade of defender in his next recruit.

Power Sport Images/Getty Images

Any move to approach Chiellini could be doomed, however, by news from Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera that the 33-year-old is ready to sign a new contract at Juve that will keep him at the club until 2020 (h/t TalkSport).

A move to the Etihad Stadium would be all but impossible in the event Chiellini does extend his stay in Turin, particularly given his birthday next August means he'll be 34 by the time the new season gets underway.

Umtiti has acclimated quickly at Barca since joining from Lyon in the summer of 2016, forming a fruitful partnership with Gerard Pique and pushing veteran Javier Mascherano out of Barca's first-team plans.

The 24-year-old possesses a much higher ceiling than Chiellini in terms of potential, and Guardiola could have the resources to tempt his former club into selling come the end of this term.