Tuesday, 10th December, 2013
Monaco are prepared to battle no less than Chelsea for the services of FC Porto defender Eliaquim Mangala, with Nicolas Otamendi also on Claudio Ranieri's radar.
Mangala was subject to interest from Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea this summer, though he eventually stayed back at Porto.
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Porto had been reeling from the exits of Joao Moutinho and James Rodriguez – both, ironically, moved to Monaco – and refused to let Mangala leave.
However, according to L'Equipe, Monaco are already taking the help of super-agent Jorge Mendes to ensure Mangala's arrival in the winter.
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Mendes is also the agent of Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, though, and that adds the major complication which Ranieri will be wary of.
Should Monaco lose out on Mangala, they do have an alternative in Otamendi, who is again a Mendes client.
Both players had been well and truly on the transfer chatter list in the summer, though Porto president Pinto da Costa had last month denied there were any offers on the table.
"Every day it is said in the newspapers that this or that club wants Mangala, but Porto did not get any proposals," Da Costa said in early November.
"Otamendi's name is also put out everywhere, but no club has never asked us for him."
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