Tony Pulis: West Brom captain Jonny Evans has not downed tools

Pep Guardiola’s team are preparing a second offer for the Northern Irishman believed to be in the region of £22m after Albion turned down their initial £18m bid.

Evans didn’t feature on the opening day of the season after reporting a tight hamstring on the Friday before the game and is also a doubt for this weekend’s match with Burnley.

Several players involved in protracted transfer sagas such as Philippe Coutinho and Alexis Sanchez missed the opening day this season with conspiracy theorists questioning the legitimacy of their injuries.

Pulis dismissed suggestions his skipper, who has turned down a new Albion contract this summer, would fake a problem in order to force a move and pointed out his star defender stayed professional last season after the Baggies turned down bids for him from Arsenal and Leicester.

“I’ve known Jonny for quite a while now and I don’t think he’d be doing that,” said Pulis. “I know other players have done that and other people have said it’s happened to other players. But I don’t think Jonny is one that would do that.

“He had a chance to go to Arsenal last year. Arsenal came and made an offer for him. Leicester did last year and have again this summer. It hasn’t affected him any way, shape or form.”

Pulis admitted after the Bournemouth game that he had to take Evans’s word for the injury, which flared up after City made an approach for him.

And he confirmed that it would be down to the defender to self-diagnose this weekend too, saying: “He is an experienced player so he will decide if he is fit.”

The Welshman says Albion have ‘no need’ to sell Evans this summer but conceded that every player has their price and that an ‘enormous’ offer would have to be considered.

City are reportedly readying a second bid for the defender but the Baggies want a fee nearer £30m.

Evans, who has two years left on his current deal, was offered a bumper new contract earlier this summer by chairman John Williams in an effort to keep him at The Hawthorns.

"I think the chairman opened discussions at the back end of last season with Jonny on a new contract," confirmed Pulis.

But the 29-year-old has not signed a new deal and Pulis admitted the lure of joining City would be a much more attractive prospect for Evans than Leicester or Arsenal.

“You could say most probably Manchester City are different because they will be hoping to win the championship, hoping to win the Champions League, the FA Cup and everything else,” he said.

“It’s a club that with Pep this year that will win trophies. So it’s a difficult one for everyone.

“Everybody’s got their value and their need. Our need is for Jonny to stay.

“If we don’t keep Jonny and they blow you out of the water the responsibility for us is to find someone to take Jonny’s place. That’s not going to be easy.

“So it can’t come as an easy come easy go transfer. It’s something the football club are very, very aware of and very, very conscious of.”

Pulis does not want to let Evans go without replacing him with another centre-back.

The Baggies are interested in Liverpool defender Mahmadou Sakho and are currently in talks with Tottenham Hotspur over a potential £15m deal for Kevin Wimmer.

But Pulis said there was still some way to go before the 24-year-old became an Albion player.

“There’s been interest but we’ve got nothing where it’s close and we’re in the bag,” he said. “Gareth (Barry) has been there for almost six weeks and it’s taken us this time to get the deal done.

“Things drop quickly or they move away. Sometimes you hang on to things and sometimes you don’t.”