Manchester City have confirmed the transfer of Nicolas Otamendi from Porto for a reported £32m. With rumors also emerging that Manchester City could be signing de Bruyne as early as later today, we can expect more movement out of City.
#mcfc are delighted to announce the signing of @Notamendi30
Full story: http://t.co/liMiPMjOae #WelcomeNicolas pic.twitter.com/1yrH3NYDmz
— Manchester City (@ManCity) August 20, 2015
Otamendi is expected to slot straight into the defense next to Vincent Kompany. Manchester City have been searching for the perfect foil to captain Vincent Company since their first title winning squad. Much was hoped of Eliaquim Mangala, but many were disappointed with the defensive performances of the entire team last season. Pellegrini will hope Otamendi will bring a bit more stability to a team that looks to be finding it’s form again. For you Youtube Scouts out there, we’ll include some game footage of Otamendi below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7A4oKNzVLbA
As we covered in a recent article on Manchester City’s start to the season, Managala has been in great form so far. That makes this move a little odd for Manchester City. At one point, Mangala was linked with a loan move to Valencia as part of the deal for Otamendi, but that was squashed by Manchester City. It now appears that Mangala will be staying at City and competing with Otamendi for that spot with Kompany. This move, a big money move for a defender, would make sense if they were replacing one of their defenders. With Mangala now staying at the club and Kompany only 29 and a firm fixture in the team, it seems like the money could have been better spent elsewhere. This is, of course, Manchester City we’re talking about. They have unlocked the ‘Unlimited Money’ cheat code so it won’t bother them too much.
As for Porto, well they’ll do what they always do. Buy a young, promising, most-likely-South-American player to replace him on the cheap. Then they’ll make him amazing and sell him for big bucks. The circle never breaks for them.
