AS Monaco are ready to bid for FC Porto’s highly-rated defender Eliaquim Mangala after a hugely impressive season with the Portuguese giants.
The 23-year old Frenchman has been in excellent form this season and has been the subject of various rumours linking with some of Europe’s biggest clubs.
Manchester United are reportedly after the centre-back as they look to fill the huge void to be left by captain Nemanja Vidic who will join Inter Milan in the summer.
The French international is one of the names on Claudio Ranieri’s summer shopping list as he looks to add new faces to his defence. Eric Abidal may retire at the end of the season while the ability of Ricardo Carvalho is in question as the Portuguese defender approaches his 36th birthday.
The fact that Mangala is French is an additional advantage for Monaco as they need to have a minimum of eight locally developed players in their Champions League squad.
The 23-year-old has a 42m release clause but a bid in the region of 25million is thought to be enough to secure the service of the talented defender.
