City warned over Spanish hitman

Manchester City would have to fork out 36 million euros if they want to take Athletic Bilbao striker Fernando Llorente to the Etihad.

The Spain international is one of a myriad of players to be heavily linked with a move to the Premier League champions this summer as City boss Roberto Mancini is looking to bolster his squad for a defence of their crown and to push on in the Champions League. However, Bilbao insist they will not accept anything less than the 36 million euro buy-out clause in Llorente's contract after he played an integral part in helping the Spanish La Liga outfit reach last season's Europa League final. "He is a key player and we would not accept less, the supporters would not accept this," said president Josu Urrutia. Real Madrid have also been linked with a swoop for Llorente, who scored 29 goals in all competitions last season, insists he is just concentrating on helping Spain to win Euro 2012 at the moment. "Now I am only focused on the national side, my situation with Athletic has not changed," said Llorente. It is thought Mancini would step up his bid to sign Llorente if Edin Dzeko departed the Etihad Stadium this summer.