' Cardiff City braced for January bid '

Cardiff City braced for January bid for Bruno Manga as Toulouse target defender

3 DEC 2015


BY CHRIS WATHAN


Manga has recently returned from injury and is currently out of the side but remains arguably the best defender available to Russell Slade



Bruno Manga and Kenwyne Jones are two of Cardiff's best players on Fifa 16

Cardiff City will brace themselves for a January move for defender Bruno Manga after claims he is set to be offered a chance to return to France.

Manga, last season’s player of the year, has struggled to force his way back into Russell Slade’s plans this term following injury and the form of current centre-back pair Sean Morrison and Matt Connolly.




And his situation has been monitored by Ligue 1 side Toulouse who are eyeing up the Gabon international ahead of next month’s transfer window as they seek to ease relegation worries from the French top-flight.



Highly-respected sports paper L’Equipe claim Manga, 27, is being seen by Tolouse boss Dominique Arribage as the kind of experienced defender he needs to ease the Stadium Municipal side away from trouble.

It remains to be seen how much Toulouse would be prepared to offer the Bluebirds for Manga who moved to Cardiff from Ligue 1 outfit Lorient in a reported £5m deal as a replacement for Steven Caulker in 2014.


It is doubtful they would be able to match the price paid, yet with Slade having been told to work within reduced budgets at Cardiff City Stadium and Ben Turner continuing his recovery from serious ankle injury at Coventry, there could be a temptation to cash-in on Manga who has 18 months remaining on his current contract.




And with the Cardiff chief still keen on adding midfield and attacking reinforcements to keep in touch with the play-off pack, it is unclear whether a bid from Toulouse would be dismissed as readily as it would have been last term.

Manga has made just two substitute appearances this season, a knee injury picked up in pre-season seeing him lose his place before a groin injury sustained on international duty sidelined him until recently.

The powerful centre-half, so impressive last season, figured for the club’s Under 21 side last week and has been an unused replacement in Cardiff’s last two fixtures but Slade has had every right to be happy with the form shown by Morrison and Connolly in his absence.