Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini apparently wants to bring in either Kyriakos Papadopoulos or Paolo Cannavaro after missing out on the signing of Real Madrid star Pepe.
Kolo Toure was allowed to leave on a free transfer this summer, and an injury to Matija Nastasic has left Vincent Kompany and Joleon Lescott as City's only two fit centre-backs.
Pellegrini is therefore in need of defensive reinforcements, but Madrid have made it clear that they will not be selling his number-one target - 32-year-old Pepe.
The Mirror understands that the former Malaga manager has identified Napoli captain Cannavaro and Schalke 04's Greek international, Papadopoulos, who has also been linked with Liverpool, as possible alternatives.
The same source reports that Napoli have already offered Cannavaro to City, but that Pellegrini would prefer to bring in 21-year-old Papadopoulos, who is valued at around £10m.
