According to The Daily Mail, Manchester City have entered the race to sign Bruno Alves from Porto.

The British tabloid claims that the Sky Blues only just failed to land the 27-year-old defender before the winter transfer window's closure, and that they will rekindle their interest as summer draws near.

But Mark Hughes & Co. are unlikely to have a free run at Alves, as Barcelona are also keeping a close eye on the Portuguese international.

Both the Citizens and the Blaugrana are eager to bolster their options in central defence, even though Josep Guardiola already seems to have more stoppers on his books than he knows what to do with.

However, neither club have yet come close to matching Porto's asking price, which is reported to be in the region of 30 million - nearly double what City offered last month, according to the Norte club.