Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez has held discussions with Manchester City director of football Txiki Begiristain about the prospect of signing Fernando and Eliaquim Mangala this summer, reports The Daily Mail.
Benitez will be given £100m to spend this summer to revamp the Newcastle squad after securing promotion back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.
There had been some doubts about Benitez’s future but the Spaniard is now expected to stay on at the club after holding positive talks with Newcastle chairman Mike Ashley on Wednesday.
Benitez is wasting no time in strengthening his squad and has already spoken with City about the prospect of signing two players wildly out of favour at the club.
Fernando has only started five Premier League games under Pep Guardiola this season and doesn’t have a long-term future at the Etihad, while Mangala has spent the campaign on loan at Valencia after being deemed surplus to requirements by the City boss.
While Newcastle should have no problem convincing City to part ways with Fernando, signing Mangala may prove more difficult. City spent £42m to sign Mangala from Porto in 2014 and they will want to recoup as much of that fee as possible despite the fact he has been abysmal since his arrival.
Mangala has started 28 times for Valencia in the league this season, scoring twice and being booked 11 times. However, Mangala has completed the most interceptions for Los Che in the league this season (63).
For more stats on Eliaquim Mangala, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
