Manchester City Agree £31.8m Fee for Porto Defender Eliaquim Mangala

Manchester City have reportedly agreed a fee with Porto for defender Eliaquim Mangala and the player himself has agreed to join the Premier League champions.

According to Goal, the Citizens have agreed a fee in the region of £31.8m and the French defender is set to join the club after his post-World Cup holiday.

City have been linked with Mangala since the January transfer window and a move was said to be close for the player but fell through late in the window after Porto was reluctant to let the defender go unless the full amount of his release-clause was matched.

The Premier League champions have been in the market to find a top quality centre-back, who is not only strong but also good on the ball to partner club captain Vincent Kompany at the heart of the back four. Having let Joleon Lescott leave they are short of experienced central defenders in the team.

City are not the only club on the trail of the 23-year-old defender with league rivals Chelsea and Manchester United also interested in acquiring the centre-back's services.

The Blues who sold David Luiz to Paris Saint-Germain earlier in the summer feel that Mangala will be a perfect replacement to cover the loss of the Brazilian.

Earlier in the year, the French defender had confirmed that he does prefer a move to Chelsea over City. His choice had nothing to do with the club as much as the cities they are based in. The Frenchman said that his main reason for choosing the Blues was because they are based in London.

However, Manuel Pellegrini's club are confident that they can beat away competition from their rivals and land the defender from Porto.

In case of any problems the two-time Premier League champions have a back-up option in AS Roma defender Mehdi Benatia and had reportedly held talks with the Italian club regarding a transfer.