Mangala Reportedly Close To Manchester City Move

Eliaquim Mangala is reportedly close to signing with Manchester City according to sources close to Sky Sports. Despite Mangala’s expressed interest in joining Chelsea, it seems Mangala will likely be choosing between not only Manchester City and Chelsea but Manchester United as well. An offer of £32 million has been made to take the Frenchman away from his current club, FC Porto. Mangala may have a medical exam with the defending Premier League champions as soon as this weekend and is expected to join their preseason training following a post-World Cup break.

After speaking with beIN Sports before the start of the World Cup in Brazil, Mangala said “City or Chelsea? Chelsea because it is London.” He also added that he would not sign a new contract until he finished the tournament with the French team in Brazil.

This is not the first time Manchester City have pursued the center back, as an offer was made back in January but Porto refused to sell at that point. Now into the summer transfer window, manager Manuel Pellegrini has made it a priority to add depth next to Vincent Kompany for the upcoming season. The Blues who struggled in defense at times last season released Joleon Lescott who signed with West Brom.

After joining Porto in 2011 he was a substitute until his second season, and has since made 51 league appearances and scored six goals. The defender has been a highly regarded for his play over the course of the last two seasons in Portugal.

Mangala was born in France but raised in Belgium where he began his professional career with Standard Liege.  He received call-ups to both the French and Belgian youth national teams. Eventually he choose France and made featured for France’s U-21 team during the U-21 Euros in the summer of 2011. He earned a call-up for the senior team to travel to Brazil for the 2014 World Cup.