Manchester City will face summer competition from Paris St-Germain and Manchester United for Eliaquim Mangala after abandoning a £50 million deadline-day move for the defender and his Porto team-mate Fernando.
City manager Manuel Pellegrini, who confirmed that leading scorer Sergio Agüero will miss next month’s Champions League clash with Barcelona with a hamstring injury, had been hopeful of securing Mangala and Fernando before Friday night’s 11pm deadline following efforts by director of football Txiki Begiristain to drive through the double transfer.
But despite being encouraged that a deal could be struck with Porto for the two players, City will now renew interest in Mangala at the end of the season after refusing to meet the Portuguese club’s £50 million asking price for the France international and Brazilian midfielder Fernando.
Although City could now pursue alternatives to Fernando, whose Porto contract expires in the summer, it is understood that Mangala will remain a priority target.
City have monitored the 22-year-old for more than 12 months, with Begiristain and Pellegrini both regarding the player as the ideal partner for captain Vincent Kompany at centre-half.
Written by Steve Milne
