Manchester City defender Eliaquim Mangala has emerged as a hot prospect in the transfer market. City are looking to offload him as soon as possible and Crystal Palace have arrived to their rescue.
According to reports, The Eagles have launched a last gasp move to hand the defender a lifeline in the Premier League. A bid of £23m has been made in an attempt to lure the defender from the Etihad Stadium.
A lot has been said about his future as Pep Guardiola doesn’t seem to have a preference for the player at this moment and had shipped the player off to Valencia to gain sufficient first team game time last season.
The defence has been a real problem for the Spanish gaffer last season as injuries to Vincent Kompany and John Stones’ inconsistency in the backline marred their campaign. Guardiola has chalked a brief list of the probable outgoing members and Mangala’s name tops that list as of today.
City are also planning to bring ex-Manchester United defender Jonny Evans to the Etihad which could make this transfer imminent. However, there is a twist in the tale as the Baggies had previously wanted a player in exchange from City, Mangala on this occasion.
But if Palace somehow manage to land the player, it could be a block in Evans’ move which Pep definitely would like to avert.
Frank De Boer is taking this apparent risk after suffering a jolt in the pursuit of Liverpool defender Mamadou Sakho.
The French international have been the primary choice for the Eagles but they had a £25m bid rejected for the 27-year-old as the Reds have been holding out for a fee in the region of £30m.
Sakho reignited his career at the Selhurst Park and would be more than happy to join the Eagles on a permanent move but the chances of it happening are looking slim.
Mangala performed pretty decently last season in the La Liga and his consistent defending has alerted a number of clubs. But he might not be at the level what Guardiola has been craving for and is likely to depart before the transfer window closes tonight.
Mangala could be Palace’s record signing in defence should this deal go ahead. Christian Benteke remains the costliest player for them when the Belgian striker moved to the Selhurst Park last summer from Liverpool.
