Man City seal 32 mln-pound Mangala deal, pave way for Nastasic's exit

Premier League champions Manchester City have sealed 32 million-pound deal for Eliaquim Mangala this week and have paved the way for centre back Matija Nastasic to leave.

The French centre-half's transfer from Porto has been held up while City sort out the complicated issue of Mangala's third-party ownership. City feel that the club has finally resolved this issue and boss Manuel Pellegrini let this slip before Sunday's Community Shield defeat at Wembley when he listed Mangala among his summer signings.

Pellegrini said that the players that City has brought in, Fernando, Caballero, Sagna and Mangala, will help the team and make them stronger defending, but he hopes that they continue to be strong offensively, The Mirror reported.

The deal was confirmed on the club's Twitter page this afternoon and the champions plan to unveil Mangala at their City Live event at Manchester Central on Thursday when the supporters get the chance to meet the players for the new campaign.

Mangala's arrival will squeeze out Nastasic and City will listen to offers for the Serbian centre-half, with a return to Italy looking likely two years after he joined from Fiorentina.

Pellegrini will reportedly be happy and relieved to get Mangala finally over the line after City first tried to sign him in January. They tried again at the end of last season, only to be told by Mangala that he wanted to wait until after the World Cup before deciding his future.

The French international finally gave City the thumbs up and flew over to Manchester last month for a medical. Mangala did an interview with the club's website, which was accidentally leaked out, and the paperwork for the move was held up while City resolved his third-party ownership, the report added.