" Mangala Can Be A Hit At Manchester City " - Kompany

Forum 8 years ago

" Mangala Can Be A Hit At Manchester City " - Kompany

The 24-year-old appeared set to move to Valencia on loan but now appears set to remain at the Etihad and he has been backed to prove his worth by his centre-back partner Manchester Citycaptain Vincent Kompanyhas backed defender Eliaquim Mangalato prove his worth in the Premier League.


The Frenchman became the most expensive defender in British football history when he joined Manuel Pellegrini's side in a £31.8 million deal from Porto in August last year, and made 25 league appearances in 2014-15.


A series of erratic displays have led to links away from the club, however, with City poised to sign Nicolas Otamendi from Valencia.


Mangala was due to join the Spanish club on loan as part of the transfer, which will cost around £25m, but it now appears that Marcos Lopes is set to move to Valencia instead, and Kompany believes his defensive partner will excel this season, having played a key role in the club's 3-0 win over Chelsea on Sunday.


"People always underestimate the hardship of this league. It is very rare, especially with a central defender, for someone to come in and dominate. It is very hard," he told reporters.


"Our defending against Chelsea was made easier by the fact we defended well as a team. We have a style of play where we play very high with a lot of space, so a lot of individual challenges are required.


"Because of that, it is only when the whole team works like we did that we get great defensive performances."


City are currently top of the Premier League table after two games, having also defeated West Brom 3-0, and Kompany says he is unfazed by the club's tag as favourites to win the title.
"Usually we get written off a bit later in the season, then we come back," he said.


"It is not a bad way to start, but for all of a sudden people to talk about us as favourites, why does it matter?


"I am happy for people to say Arsenal, Liverpool, [Manchester] United and Chelsea are the favourites. But if we keep playing like this, you won’t see any sad faces at this club."
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