Manchester City Transfer News: Eliaquim Mangala Exit Targeted, Latest Rumours

Eliaquim Mangala's nightmare stay at Manchester City is drawing to a close, with AC Milan and Valencia interested in signing the £42 million centre-half, wrote David Anderson of the Daily Mirror.

The France international has endured a largely torrid stay in England following his big-money switch from FC Porto in 2014 after failing to adapt to the high-tempo nature of the Premier League.

He has now voiced his intention to leave the Etihad Stadium, with the 25-year-old defender reportedly asking his agent to find him a new club, per L'Equipe (h/t Shamoon Hafez of BBC Sport).

Mangala is reportedly thought to be interested in a one-year loan away from the club, with new City manager Pep Guardiola still to make a final decision on the player's importance to the first-team squad.

Per Sami Mokbel of MailOnline, the centre-back heads a contingent of fringe players the Spanish boss is eager to ship out, with Wilfried Bony, Samir Nasri and Jesus Navas among the list of prospective departures.

The £47.5 million signing of John Stones from Everton made the England international the world's second-most expensive defender—according to BBC Sport—and left Mangala's role near-untenable.

Former Wales international Daniel Gabbidon felt it would be vital that the former Toffee learned next to and from City's stalwart and captain:

Anderson claimed the trio of Mangala, Bony and Nasri have all been left out of City's UEFA Champions League squad for the upcoming campaign, with the French stopper's agent, Jorge Mendes, now on the lookout for a viable transfer destination for the centre-half.

Squawka detailed the combined total of transfer fees omitted from the European shortlist:

Per WhoScored.com, the former Porto regular featured in 23 league matches last term under Manuel Pellegrini. This was in spite of a hamstring problem that left him out of action for a portion of the campaign, according to Transfermarkt.

A heavily built centre-half, Mangala was domineering in Portuguese and European competition for his former employers at the Estadio do Dragao. Intimidating in the air, the Frenchman was able to bully attackers with his strength but could also pass the ball away from danger with composure.

In comparison, his time in England has been marked by a series of errors, inconsistency and unease in possession, with the player himself admitting he found the contrast of styles hard to grasp.

Per Jamie Jackson of the Guardian, Mangala was quoted as saying in February 2015:

My debut against Chelsea went very well. After that I had games that didn't go as well as I would have liked and some that went great. I need to be more consistent – not to have one good game, then a bad game, two good games, and one medium performance and so on.

Of course there is a period of adjustment that every player makes when they arrive in England. I was expecting a quick pace, intensity and physical games. But there is a difference between what you think you will find out and what you actually experience and it would be true to say the physicality and intensity is more than I'd imagined when I first arrived.

Prior to Stones' arrival, Mangala was the most expensive defender in British history, but his performances have failed to match his fee. Valencia looks a viable option for a season-long loan away from Manchester, with the Liga club seeking potential signings with Shkodran Mustafi entering talks with Arsenal, according to Kicker (h/t James Cambridge of the Daily Express).

Elsewhere, City youngster David Faupala has joined NAC Breda on loan in the Netherlands, the Dutch club have confirmed via their official Twitter account.

The 19-year-old striker was spotted holding the shirt of the Eredivisie club after securing a season-long loan. Per TalkSport, fellow City team-mates Ashley Smith-Brown and Thomas Agyepong have already agreed short-term deals with the second-tier outfit.