Eliaquim Mangala
Eliaquim Mangala Reuters

Manchester City have reportedly made a £38m January bid to sign Porto centre-back Eliaquim Mangala but reports in France claim that the player has already tuned down an offer as he wants to wait until the summer to move away.

The 22-year-old French international has garnered a reputation as one of the most talented centre-backs around Europe and a number of big European clubs have shown interest in his services – including Chelsea, Manchester United, Monaco, Barcelona and Manchester City, who according to reports are leading the race for his sign in.

But according to French website Le 10 Sport Manuel Pellegrini's side will have to wait until the summer to sign him as the French international wants to finish the season at Porto to avoid risking his chances of missing out on next summer's World Cup.

Le 10 Sport claim that Mangala has already rejected an offer to move to the Etihad Stadium despite Manchester City's £38m bid to secure his services.

However, Pellegrini's side are tempted to increase their offer to convince the youngster of a move, as reports suggest Porto are now open to negotiations despite telling City to foget about signing the defender just last summer.

The Chilean boss is looking for a centre-back to add to the squad with Joleon Lescott looking increasingly likely to move away this January with the English international forcing an exit in order to secure more first team football with the World Cup on the horizon.

Vincent Kompany, Martin Demichelis and Matija Nastasic have all suffered injuries in the first part of the season and Pellegrini is concerned over the possibility of facing further selection problems during the crucial months of the campaign.

Bayern Munich's Dante is the other centre-back that has been linked with a move to the Etihad lately but a move for the Brazilian looks even more complicated as he is a key player for Pep Guardiola.