Everton have opened talks with Eliaquim Mangala as they edge closer to signing the Manchester City centre-back, according to the Daily Mail.
The newspaper claimed in their live transfer blog on Wednesday [10:45am] that Newcastle United and West Ham are still in the hunt to sign Mangala, 26, but it appears that the France international is edging closer to a move to Goodison Park.
The Mirror had earlier claimed that Mangala is going to move to Everton on loan until the end of the summer for a fee worth £1million.
Mangala, who signed from Porto for £42million in 2014, looks to have slipped down the pecking order at Man City following Aymeric Laporte’s completed switch from Athletic Bilbao on Tuesday.
He has made 15 appearances in all competitions this season for Man City, but now looks to be close to becoming Sam Allardyce’s third capture of January after Cenk Tosun and Theo Walcott.
Good move for Everton?
Mangala is a huge improvement on what Everton already have at Goodison Park. Ashley Williams and Phil Jagielka are not getting any younger and Michael Keane has been a bit of a disappointment. The Frenchman is left-footed and can also play at left-back. While he wouldn’t be expected to bomb down the wing, he would be a great back-up for Leighton Baines, who is struggling with injuries.
This is Futbol rating 10/10
Likely to happen?
It seems that this deal will go through soon. Mangala will no doubt be desperate for football and moving to Goodison Park may mean that he can still live in his same house for the rest of the season. Newcastle and West Ham could still hijack the deal late on, but it looks as though the Toffees have this one in the bag.
This is Futbol rating 9/10