Manchester City: Eliaquim Mangala makes his return from injury

Manchester City centerback Eliaquim Mangala makes his long-awaited return from injury but does he still have a place in the team?

Eliaquim Mangala, Manchester City’s statuesque centerback, announced today on Twitter that he has made his return from injury after a lengthy layoff. Mangala was on his second loan stint since signing for City, this time with Everton FC, when he suffered a devastating knee injury in February 2018.

The Frenchman missed the remainder of the 2017-18 season with said injury and as a result of the injury, was not loaned out or sold during the summer transfer window. Now that he is fit, the question is whether manager Pep Guardiola will find a way to integrate him in to his side or will club brass look to sell him in the January window. Mangala may have to prove his fitness through some playing time but perhaps the club could have him turn out for the U21 side as part of his rehabilitation.

Mangala was signed for a hefty fee of £42 million in 2014 from FC Porto, a world record for a defender at the time, but never lived up to the price tag. He made 33 and 31 appearances respectively for City in his first two seasons but has since been either a bit part player at the club or a loanee, quite a precipitous drop for a man who was once the world’s most expensive defender.

For every great performance for the Cityzens there were two awful ones and that was always the primary issue for Mangala. Even on loan at Valencia he had his share of good performances but was still prone to the occasional boneheaded error that hurt his team.

At this point in his Manchester City career, it is unlikely that Eliaquim Mangala will get any playing time over the likes of John Stones, Aymeric Laporte, Vincent Kompany, or Nicolas Otamendi so he is definitely better served finding his playing time elsewhere.

Mangala is in the final year of his contract so the club could look to hedge their losses with a cut price January sale or simply keep the Frenchman around in case of an injury or suspension crisis. Either way it looks like we may have seen the last of Mangala in a Manchester City shirt though we wish him the best of luck and congratulate him on his recovery.