Valenica have announced the signing of out-of-favour Man City defender Mangala on a season-long loan.
The 25-year-old centre-back comes to Valencia as an immediate replace for Shkodran Mustafi who moved to Arsenal on Tuesday.
.@Elia22Mangala has joined @valenciacf on a season-long loan – good luck, Elia!https://t.co/vqmq55Fw6U pic.twitter.com/kA0py7nI0r
— Manchester City (@ManCity) August 31, 2016
The club statement read: “Everyone at City would like to wish Eliaquim the best of luck at Valencia.”
Another Valencia centre-back Aymen Abdennour has been highly linked with a move to Chelsea on Wednesday.
? @Elia22Mangala #BienvenueMangala pic.twitter.com/Mr4eN0ftSf
— Valencia CF English (@valenciacf_en) August 31, 2016
Mangala becomes the latest player to leave Man City on deadline day, following loan moves of Joe Hart, Wilfried Bony and Samir Nasri.
? Meet #VCF‘s number5️⃣ @Elia22Mangala take a look at the highlights ➡ https://t.co/Fqh32Rdkzq … pic.twitter.com/Y4vtOGE2G7
— Valencia CF English (@valenciacf_en) August 31, 2016
After taking charge at Man City, Pep Guardiola had made it clear that Mangla didn’t fit in his plans for the new season. After English defender John Stones’ arrival from Everton this summer, Mangala found it difficult to secure a place in the first team under Guardiola.Mangala didn’t feature in any of Man City’s pre-season and the first three matches of Premier League this season.
Mangala joined Man City from the Portuguese club Porto, back in the year 2014 and with a reputation of a top-notch centre-back. However, the French defender failed to match the standards of the club during his last two seasons at Man City and has drawn huge criticism from fans due to a prolonged inconsistency in his form.
