Manchester City seal £32million Eliaquim Mangala 
deal after resolving third-party ownership issue.

Breakthrough: Mangala appears to be on his way to the Etihad 

Eliaquim Mangala has

completed his protracted £32million move to Manchester City this week - paving the way for Matija Nastasic to leave.

Mangala's transfer from Porto has been held up while City sort out the complicated issue of the French centre-half's third-party ownership.

The Blues feel they have finally resolved this issue and boss Manuel Pellegrini let this slip before Sunday's Community Shield defeat at Wembley when he listed Mangala among his summer signings.

Pellegrini said: "The players that we have brought in - Fernando, Caballero, Sagna and Mangala -will help the team and will make us stronger defending, but I hope we continue to be strong offensively. I'm happy with the squad."

The deal was confirmed on the club's Twitter page this afternoon and the championsplan to unveil Mangala at their City Live event at Manchester Central on Thursday when the supporters get the chance to meet the players for the new campaign.

Mangala's arrival will squeeze out Nastasic and City will listen to offers for the Serbian centre-half, with a return to Italy looking likely two years after he joined from Fiorentina.

David Rogers

On his way: Nastasic was disappointing in Sunday's Community Shield loss

 Pellegrini will

promote Belgian Dedryck Boyata to his panel of senior central defenders for the new campaign.

This leaves no place for Dutch defender Karim Rekik and Pellegrini will loan him back to PSV Eindhoven because he knows he needs senior football to continue his development.

Pellegrini will be happy and relieved to get Mangala finally over the line and the Blues first tried to sign him in January.

They tried again at the end of last season, only to be told by Mangala that he wanted to wait until after the World Cup before deciding his future.

He finally gave City the thumbs up and flew over to Manchester last month for a medical.

He did an interview with the club's website, which was accidentally leaked out, and the paperwork for the move was held up while City resolved his third-party ownership.