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‘Get the champagne’ – Lots of Man City fans react to transfer interest in ‘great servant’

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Lots of Manchester City fans have been reacting on social media to reports Valencia are in talks to sign defender Nicolas Otamendi during the summer transfer window.

According to Super Deporte, City have placed Otamendi on the transfer list as Pep Guardiola’s side look to cash-in on the Argentine.

Valencia are extremely keen to reunite with Otamendi if the 32-year-old’s time in England has reached its end and will ‘exhaust all the possibilities’, as the Mestalla is where the 70-cap international wishes to play his football in the event of leaving City.

The Sky Blues already discussed a move for Otamendi to re-join Valencia during the early negotiations over Ferran Torres, though saw the offer rebuffed as Pete Lim refused to accept a player-plus-cash deal.

Valencia did request further information on Otamendi’s situation and what it would take to complete a transfer, to which Txiki Begiristain stated that the centre-half will be allowed to leave for the right price.

A move for Otamendi is now no longer seen as unfeasible, although the two-time Premier League winner also has offers from other La Liga sides and one from Italy. However, it is expected the Buenos Aires-born centre-back is willing to wait for Valencia to reach an agreement.

It has been reported elsewhere that City are ready to slash their valuation in order to get Otamendi’s £120,000-per-week contract off the books following the arrival of Nathan Ake, with an asking price of just £8million touted for a player signed for £31.7m five years ago.

Manchester City would not recoup all of the fee received, however, as Velez Sarsfield are understood to be owed five per-cent of the final figure due to a sell-on clause in the defender’s contract.

Negotiations between Valencia and the Sky Blues are also said to be in an advanced stage, suggesting Otamendi’s days at the Etihad Stadium are numbered and that he has played in his final game in the Premier League.

Otamendi’s departure would certainly seem to leave a few City supporters happy, while others are simply okay with saying goodbye to a player whose importance has dwindled.

Not all City fans believe Otamendi’s departure is as good a piece of news as others view it, with a few sad to see a ‘great servant’ leave their club having helped achieve greatness as a key part of the 2017/18 double-winning side.

A lot of City supporters also believe that if any centre-half is leaving the Etihad Stadium this summer, that it should be John Stones rather than Otamendi.

Stones played 544 minutes less than Otamendi in the Premier League this season, and averaged fewer successful tackles (1.3 to 1.5), interceptions (0.8 to 1.1), clearances (2.6 to 3.9) and blocked fewer shots (0.3 to 0.5) per 90 minutes than his elder teammate, per WhoScored data.

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