Manchester City have completed a £28.4 million move for defender Nicolas Otamendi, with center-back Eliaquim Mangala heading to Valencia on loan for the remainder of the season.
Otamendi has long been linked with a move to Manchester United. However, United were unwilling to meet the player’s £35.4 million buy-out clause and didn’t have anything to offer Valencia in return to lower the fee. In recent weeks, the club distanced itself from the Argentine as it pushed for an agreement with Sergio Ramos.
Yesterday, as talks with Manchester City intensified, Otamendi reportedly asked out of training and told manager Nuno Espirito Santo: “Don’t select me anymore. I’m not going to play; I’ve got big money at stake.”
It is now expected that City will unveil the Argentina international tomorrow, with details of Eliaquim Mangala’s loan move to Valencia to follow.
To most fans and pundits, Mangala’s time in the blue half of Manchester will be looked at as a disappointment.
The France international won successive Primeira Liga titles with Porto before making the switch to Manchester City for £31.8 million last season. But failed to reach the heights he achieved in Portugal while plying his trade in England.
As fortune would have it, Mangala played perhaps his best match in a sky blue uniform earlier today as Manchester City defeated the defending Premier League champions Chelsea 3-0 at the Etihad.
