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I've made no secret of the fact that I consider Manchester City our most important rivals on the domestic front, both this season and over the next half-decade. And of all their rumoured moves this summer, only one fills me with any real worry -- they've been linked with Bacary Sagna, Porto's Fernando and finally Eliaquim Mangala, the 23-year-old France international, and it's the latter who'd be of most benefit to them. For clubs looking to improve in the short and long run, you want to bring in young players who are both immediate upgrades and who might be expected to get better. And Mangala is both.
Why do I bring him up here? Because Mangala, whom I like a lot, has just said this:
City or Chelsea? Chelsea because it is London. 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.
Source: BeIn Sports via Goal.
Obviously we're pretty well set at centre back, so don't take this as the start of a Mangala-to-Chelsea rumour, but it's gratifying to know that even if City manage to sign the man I think should be their top priority this summer (and I'd be slightly surprised if a deal got done with the FFP settlement now in force) he'd still rather have joined us. Such are the perils of life in the provinces.
