City, who maintained their Premier
Leaguetitle challenge yesterday with a 4-1 win over Southampton,
attempted to acquire both players at the end of the January transfer window
but the deals could not be completed in time. However, City’s director of
football, Txiki Begiristain, is understood to have continued the
negotiations.
The deal to sign Mangala, a rangy 23-year-old central defender who is a France
international, is the most progressed, with sources in Portugal claiming
yesterday that the fee could be as high as £29 million.
With Joleon Lescott out of contract and leaving this summer, and Martin
Demichelis, at 33, signed as a stop-gap, City are keen to strengthen the
centre of defence to provide competition for Matija Nastasic as a regular
partner to captain Vincent Kompany.
Mangala has been strongly linked to Chelsea
in the past but their acquisition of Kurt Zouma for £12.5 million on January
deadline day, before loaning him back to St Etienne, was an acknowledgement
that they were looking elsewhere.
Fernando’s agent has hinted that the holding midfielder could join City, after
a move for him also stalled in January, and the player is expected to
command a fee of around £12.4 million.
The 26-year-old signed a new contract at Porto in February, with his previous
deal running out at the end of this season, but that appeared only to be a
measure to preserve his transfer value. There were also suggestions that
Fernando, a Brazilian who is a naturalised Portuguese, was told he would be
frozen out of the first team if he did not sign.
Fernando’s deal ties him to Porto until 2017 with a buy-out clause thought to
be £25 million but the likelihood is that he will be sold for significantly
less. If he does arrive at City it will raise questions over the futures of
Jack Rodwell, who is expected to return to Everton,
and Javi Garcia.
City’s win over Southampton was aided by a serious mistake by assistant
referee Michael McDonough, which allowed Samir Nasri to give them a 2-1
lead.
