Time for Man City to cash in on Eliaquim Mangala

Manchester City defender Eliaquim Mangala has been widely reported to be the subject of a transfer bid from Inter Milan. Both Football Italia and the Sun claim the San Siro side is hugely interested in the player who has failed to make the expected impact at City.

The 27-year-old joined FC Porto from Belgian side Standard Liège in 2011 where he won consecutive Primeira Liga titles. His performance for the Portuguese giants drew attention from several top European sides. He moved to Manchester City in 2014 in a £32-million deal to work under Manuel Pellegrini.

After mixed performances for the Sky Blues in the first two years of his five-year deal with City, he was sent out on a season-long loan to Valencia for the 2016/17 campaign when Pep Guardiola took over at City as he sought to reshape the squad.

Back from Spain, the Frenchman contributed to Guardiola’s side in the first part of the 2017/18 double-winning campaign but was shipped out on another loan deal to Everton for the remainder of the season after Aymeric Laporte was acquired from Athletic Club.

Unfortunately, he picked up a knee injury in just his second appearance for the Toffees that ruled him out for the rest of last season. He returned back to the club to club to undergo treatment.

Having recovered this term, he is now making progress back towards fitness. He was in the line up for City’s reserves when they faced Leicester City’s under-23s recently. But it is unlikely he will feature in Guardiola’s team again with a litter of star defenders like Vincent Kompany, John Stones, Aymeric Laporte and Nicolas Otamendi at his disposal.

According to Football Italia, Inter have been interested in Mangala in the last few years and wanted to sign him two years ago. The Italian giants are eager to clinch a cut-price deal in January that may be in the region of £12 million.

The France international can also leave for free in the summer as he has just seven months left on his contract with City. He is out-of-favour at the Etihad and he has not featured for the senior team since recovering from the injury.

As has also been reported, Andrea Ranocchia and Joao Miranda could both leave the San Siro when their contracts expire in June. That makes room for Mangala who is almost certain to leave the Etihad Stadium at the expiration of his contract.

Inter recruited Stefan de Vrij on a free transfer last summer and also have Milan Skriniar at center back. With this pair, Mangala would be expected to fight for his place under manager Luciano Spalletti.

Premier League side Wolves are also reported to be interested in a deal for the player. This gives City the opportunity to recoup some of the huge outlay already expended on the player. A sale in January will therefore, be ideal. It will be beneficial for all parties involved as the player also needs to move on to get his career back on track.