Manchester City have beaten neighbourhood rivals Manchester United to the signature of Valencia defender Nicolas Otamendi, reports Superdeporte.
Otamendi, 27, has been heavily linked with a move to the Premier League this summer and has reportedly been making himself unavailable for selection in order to force a move through before the transfer window shuts at the end of the month.
United had been favourites to sign the Argentina international, but have seemingly been pipped to his signature after City’s €40m (£28.4m) bid was accepted by Valencia.
Superdeporte also claim that Eliaquim Mangala, who joined City last summer for £32m, will spend the rest of the season on loan at Valencia as part of the deal.
City have spent the last few years looking for a top quality defender to partner captain Vincent Kompany in the middle of their defence and would appear to have put their faith in Otamendi this time around.
Last season only Lionel Messi (25) and Cristiano Ronaldo (17) were named man of the match more times in La Liga than Otamendi (7), earning him a place in WhoScored's statistically calculated European top five leagues team of the season.
For more stats on Nicolas Otamendi, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
