Manchester City have allowed defender Eliaquim Mangala to rejoin Valencia on a free transfer.
The France international has long been deemed surplus to requirements at the Etihad Stadium and he has now been allowed to return to the Mestalla, where he spent a successful season on loan during the 2016-17 campaign.
Mangala’s last City appearance came in a 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace on New Year’s Eve in 2017, while he has not featured for any team competitively since sustaining a serious knee injury less than two months later during a loan spell with Everton.
However, the 28-year-old, who made a total of 57 appearances for City after joining for a reported £32million from Porto in 2014, now has the opportunity of a fresh start with Valencia, who confirmed the news of his transfer.
A club statement read: “Valencia CF have reached an initial agreement with Eliaquim Mangala for the French defender to join the club through to June 30th, 2021. The agreement is pending the completion of the definitive paperwork.”
Mangala himself told Diario AS that he “really wanted to return to the Mestalla,” and he could make his second debut for Los Che when they play host to Real Sociedad in their opening match of the new La Liga season on Saturday.
Valencia, who also have Champions League football to look forward to after finishing fourth in La Liga last season, are priced at 1.73 to start the new campaign with a victory over Real Sociedad. Sociedad are 5.00 to win and the draw is on offer at 3.60.
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