Pep Guardiola gives two-word answer to Harry Maguire transfer question

Man City boss Pep Guardiola gave very little away when asked whether he was in pursuit of Harry Maguire.

The Leicester and England centre-back has been heavily linked with City and cross-city rivals Manchester United.

The 26-year-old player for Leicester in a pre-season clash with Scunthorpe last night and afterwards boss Brendan Rodgers said the club had turned down two offers for the defender.

United are understood to have submitted an opening £70million bid earlier this month, while there were claims at the weekend that an improved bid of £80m had been accepted.

However, the Foxes are standing firm amid claims they are seeking as much as £90million  for Maguire – with no financial need to sell the player.

Asked if City were chasing Maguire after today’s 4-1 win over West Ham in Nanjing, the Spaniard simply said: “Leicester player.”

West Ham’s day had started well with the announcement of record signing Sebastien Haller but, in terms of the game, manager Manuel Pellegrini felt his side faded after a bright start.

He said: “In the first half I was happy with the performance of our team. We played quite well and had chances near their box.

“But we conceded two goals in two minutes and against Manchester City you cannot concede those goals.

“In the second half, they improved a lot as we made many changes. I think we made important mistakes in our defending but they played better in the second half.

“I was happy offensively. It is not easy to create chances against Manchester City but we must concentrate more in defence.”