Manchester City have reportedly been monitoring Porto’s centre-back, Elaquim Mangala for over 18 months. The Citizens have tried to sign the French defender already last year, but the Portuguese club’s request of £50M for Mangala and Fernando was deemed too high.
After having signed Fernando from Porto for £12M however, the EPL champions are confident the French player will join them after the World Cup. Porto now request a sum around £30M.
Mangala scored an impressive 6 goals in 51 appearances with Porto
Initially, Manchester City wished to sign Roma’s Mehdi Benatia. However, the Moroccan defender may prove to be too expensive for the English club. The Italians have apparently refused a €35M offer, and came back demanding £30M plus Nastasic to close the deal.
Elaquim Mangala is currently in Brazil representing his country, France
Benatia, who is on the wish list of Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Barcelona, is one of the hottest centre-backs right now. Understandably, Roma does not want to let him go for anything below £50M. This pushed the Citizens to consider a cheaper option, like Elaquim Mangala.
Benatia had an amazing season with Roma and is now requested by most European giants
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