Manchester City close to signing Porto pair Eliaquim Mangala and Fernando for £41m

Manchester City plan to strengthen centre of defence with Eliaquim Mangala and Fernando when Joleon Lescott and Martin Demichelis exit

City are closing in on deals to sign Porto pair Eliaquim Mangala and Fernando for a combined fee of £41 million.

City, who maintained their Premier Leaguetitle challenge yesterday with a 4-1 win over Southampton, attempted to acquire both players at the end of the January transfer window but the deals could not be completed in time. However, City’s director of football, Txiki Begiristain, is understood to have continued the negotiations.

The deal to sign Mangala, a rangy 23-year-old central defender who is a France international, is the most progressed, with sources in Portugal claiming yesterday that the fee could be as high as £29 million.

With Joleon Lescott out of contract and leaving this summer, and Martin Demichelis, at 33, signed as a stop-gap, City are keen to strengthen the centre of defence to provide competition for Matija Nastasic as a regular partner to captain Vincent Kompany.

Mangala has been strongly linked to Chelsea in the past but their acquisition of Kurt Zouma for £12.5 million on January deadline day, before loaning him back to St Etienne, was an acknowledgement that they were looking elsewhere.

Fernando’s agent has hinted that the holding midfielder could join City, after a move for him also stalled in January, and the player is expected to command a fee of around £12.4 million.

The 26-year-old signed a new contract at Porto in February, with his previous deal running out at the end of this season, but that appeared only to be a measure to preserve his transfer value. There were also suggestions that Fernando, a Brazilian who is a naturalised Portuguese, was told he would be frozen out of the first team if he did not sign.

Fernando’s deal ties him to Porto until 2017 with a buy-out clause thought to be £25 million but the likelihood is that he will be sold for significantly less. If he does arrive at City it will raise questions over the futures of Jack Rodwell, who is expected to return to Everton, and Javi Garcia.

City’s win over Southampton was aided by a serious mistake by assistant referee Michael McDonough, which allowed Samir Nasri to give them a 2-1 lead.