The Manchester City deadline day exodus continues as Eliaquim Mangala has completed his loan move to Spanish side Valencia. Mangala was a complete flop after his very expensive move from Porto a couple of years ago.
The Frenchman was called up for the Euro squad in his home country this summer but did not feature the entire tournament. He wasn’t a regular when Manuel Pellegrini was in charge and once Pep Guardiola arrived those chances went from slim to zero.
Pep Guardiola took one look at his defense and realized he needed to bring in someone to strengthen it. With Vincent Kompany injured, Pep turned to Everton’s John Stones and he completed a record deal becoming the most expensive defender.
That singing sealed Mangala’s ate and he was asked by the manager to find a new club. Now he has a chance at redemption in Spain with Valencia. The transfer is also a very timely one with Shkodran Mustafi signing for Arsenal yesterday.
The loan deal will be for a whole season, after which he will very likely make a permanent transfer out of his parent club. Mangala made 48 appearances for City in his tow year spell. He was very erratic in his performances and never really settled in Engish football.
Valencia were in need of a cheap replacement for Mustafi and Mangala might just be the player that could fill that void. Arsene Wenger confirmed on Saturday that both Lucas Perez and Mustafi had completed medicals and would be announced soon.
The club unveiled both signing sin a matter of 6 hours with Perez being announced first followed by the German defender. Mangala is the 4th departure today from the club after the likes of Bony, Nasri and most importantly Joe Hart.
The England No 1 has had his world turned upside down in a matter of three months. After a poor display at the Euros, Guardiola decided Hart wasn;t the kind of keeper who could fit his system and reportedly told him to find a new club if he wants regular game time.
Now, Nasri and Mangala will be facing each other, with Hart signing for Juventus’ city rivals Torino. Pep brought in Barcelona’s Claudio Bravo last week. He did not feature for the first game against West Ham but will likely play after the international break
Bravo has already played his last game for Barcelona this season.in their 6-2 win over Real Betis on the opening day.
