Rumour: Manchester City turn to £25m Pepe after Eliaquim Mangala snub

Manchester City are set to turn their attentions to Real Madrid central defender Pepe after being snubbed by Porto star Eliaquim Mangala, according to the Daily Star.

City have been linked with Mangala for over a year and almost came close to signing him in the January transfer market midway through last season. Rumours claimed he was preparing to board a private jet to Manchester to complete his move with midfielder Fernando, but it did not happen.

The Premier League champions were then tipped to complete the deal over the summer as his Porto future now looks uncertain. However, reports recently have suggested that Mangala would prefer to play for City’s rivals, Chelsea.

Mangala has been slapped with a £35 million price-tag and City were thought to be interested in Roma defender, too, but their valuation of £50m has put Manuel Pellegrini off.

It has now emerged that City have turned their attention to Pepe, who has won La Liga and the Champions League with Real Madrid.

The Portuguese defender’s future at Madrid is slightly unclear as it may be hard for him to dislodge Sergio Ramos or Raphael Varane from the starting line-up and City are thought to be looking to take advantage of that.Pepe scored four La Liga goals last season, three more than Luka Modric.