Manchester City hands one-year contract extension to Mangala

Manchester City has handed a one-year contract extension to Eliaquim Mangala despite the defender not featuring in Pep Guardiola's first-team plans.

Mangala last played a Premier League match for City in the December 2017 0-0 draw at Crystal Palace.

The French centre-back was then sent on loan to Everton, where he suffered a serious knee ligament injury in his second match.

The 28-year-old has not featured for City in any competition this season but recently returned to training and the club confirmed his terms had been extended beyond June 2019 in a short statement.

"Eliaquim Mangala has signed a one-year contract extension, keeping him at Manchester City until 2020," it read.

Mangala joined City from Porto for a fee in the region of £42million in August 2014, but a succession of error-strewn displays meant he was unable to establish himself as a regular fixture under Manuel Pellegrini.

He spent the 2016-17 campaign – Guardiola's first at the helm – on loan at Valencia and his first-team return last season followed the collapse of a proposed switch to Palace and City centre-backs Vincent Kompany and John Stones suffering injury setbacks.

Overall, he has made 81 appearances during his time at the Etihad Stadium.