On the final day of the transfer window, Eliaquim Mangala left Manchester City FC with Valencia his destination on a season-long loan deal.
Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne, Eliaquim Mangala and Fernandinho during training
On deadline day Manchester City made it clear they were looking to offload a number of players and Eliaquim Mangala was one of those. Alongside Samir Nasri, Wilfried Bony, Joe Hart and Jason Denayer, all left the Etihad on loan deals in a busy final day of the transfer window.
At the close of the transfer window, Mangala was on his way to Spain with Valencia his destination in a season-long loan deal.
Mangala has had a torrid time in Manchester and with the arrival of Pep Guardiola in the summer it was soon made clear that the Frenchman was not going to feature in his plans. That theory was cemented when City paid Everton £47.5 million (Daily Mail) for the services of John Stones, leaving the door open for Mangala’s exit.
Manchester City’s John Stones after sustaining an injury to his eye
While Mangala has struggled at City, the move away is a good idea. The France international is looking to rebuild the reputation that brought him to City from FC Porto for £32 million (Daily Mail), and will see Valencia as the place he can do that. Mangala has failed to live up to his reputation at City, with Guardiola keen to move the player on, and after the defender completed his move to Spain, he was reported in The Daily Mail as saying: “It feels like my destiny to be here right now and I can’t wait to get started.”
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola
Having spent two seasons in Manchester the move to The Mestalla may have come at the ideal time with wholesale changes throughout the City squad, and Twitter was full of mixed views, with the general opinion that the move was for the best…
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