Manchester City Target Eliaquim Mangala Prefers Move to Chelsea

Porto midfielder Eliaquim Mangala has revealed that he would prefer a move to Chelsea than Manchester City owing to their presence in London.

The £35m-rated defender is a summer target for City after having failed to land the player last January. The Citizens were looking to complete a double swoop for Mangala and Fernando in the winter transfer window but Porto refused to sell midway through the season.

Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United were also interested in the French international but City are deemed favourites for his signature this summer.

The defender has been named in Didier Deschamps squad to travel for the World Cup in Brazil after a string of impressive performances for the Portuguese outfit.

His arrival will be a major boost for City who were struggling with Martin Demichelis in their backline alongside Vincent Kompany.

The Argentine was at fault in City's FA Cup loss to Wigan in the quarter finals and also got himself sent off in their Champions league game against Barcelona, which eventually led to their ouster.

However, with Mangala revealing his preference for Chelsea, Jose Mourinho may join the race to sign the player as replacement for David Luiz, who has been linked with a move to Bayern Munich and Barcelona.

"City or Chelsea? Chelsea because it is London," Mangala said, when asked about his preference.

"It is true that I love the Premier League because it is a spectacular championship. In January, there were discussions with City, but it fell through because the two clubs could not reach an agreement.

"Every player wants to play in the biggest clubs. I am an ambitious player and the team that can help me win titles is the one that interests me," he added.

However, the player is now completely focussed on the World Cup and will decide on his future after the tournament is over.

"My goal now is the World Cup. We will see what happens after that. I told Jorge Mendes [his agent] that I don't want to know anything about the transfer window until then," he concluded.