The player with the most to lose if Man City sign Mangala
Published:The fact that Eliaquim Mangala was the fourth choice central-defender at the World Cup suggests that £32m is on the steep side for his signature.
However, this does seem a sum Manchester City are happy to offer, despite their cap on transfer spending being at £49m this summer thanks to the ban imposed by UEFA.
Alongside the Porto man taking up the lion’s share of their budget, what Mangala will also do is take Man City’s total of overseas players to 18.
Premier League rules stipulate that only 17 squad members can be over the age of 21 and considered overseas, while this figure drops to 16 in the Champions League.
Therefore, at least one, and possibly two overseas players will depart the Etihad this summer, while strengthening their number of home-grown players would be a productive strategy.
There appear to be four players that Man City could sell to lower their reliance on overseas players, although Yaya Toure departing looks unlikely, even if he wants out.
Alvaro Negredo has been linked with Atletico Madrid, but Sergio Aguero’s injury problems make them reluctant to sell a striker.
Javi Garcia has dropped further down the pecking order thanks to the arrival of Fernando, but the murmurs are that Manuel Pellegrini would rather cash in on Jack Rodwell if selling a midfielder.
This leaves Matija Nastasic’s place at risk, especially as he will have a decent sell-on value given his age of 21 and double-figure international caps.
Juventus have the Serbian prominent on their transfer shortlist, especially with 33-year-old Andrea Barzagli recovering from Achilles surgery.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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