Manchester City have been told they must pay €5m (£4.26m) for Martín Demichelis, as they focuses on the Atletico Madrid central defender now that the pursuit of Pepe has ended because Real Madrid are not willing to sell the Portuguese, The Guardian reports.

Yet with Atlético placing that price on Demichelis despite him being 32 and having signed just a one-year deal when arriving as a free agent from Málaga earlier this summer, City are keen to pay less. It is thought their valuation is closer to €3m, though the club may find their bargaining position compromised. Vincent Kompany is set to be out for a month because of a groin injury, which would mean missing three league matches; on Thursday the City captain will discover the results of a scan .

With Micah Richards being out for around a month because of a hamstring problem and Matija Nastasic only returning to full training on Wednesday morning following an ankle problem, Pellegrini has Joleon Lescott as his one match-fit senior central defender.

While Demichelis worked under Pellegrini for two seasons at Málaga, if the manager decides not to risk Nastasic for Sunday's trip to Cardiff City he could choose to press either Gareth Barry or Javi García into emergency service alongside Lescott.