Tolmie said that there is something to this, and that Mangala is mooted for a possible move the other way.
I know this would be an unpopular view, but it is conceivable that Txiki thinks that Otamendi is a better player than Mangala. The other relevant issue is the age of Demichelis, and Vinny's tendency to break down with injuries.
So it me I can see the sense to this, and if it meant Mangala going the other way then I personally wouldn't have a problem with that. I am stil not convinced that Mangala is the right player for our European adventures this season.
If anything, I would expect us to keep and further develop Managala. To make way, I could see Martin taking a back seat. Irrespective of injuries, there are more than enough games in the season to keep everyone happy.
Tolmie didn't say Mangala was going the other way.
He said he'd heard the Otamendi stuff had substance from his source.
Then he said it was quite interesting that Mangala, another Mendes client was mooted for the switch. He wasn't suggesting that came from his source, that was just a passing observation.
Demi is the obvious person to leave.
And while I'm happy with our current 4, there's no denying that Vinny, Otamendi, Mangala, Denayer would be as strong as anything out there and with their ages 29, 27, 24, 20 - we'd be all set at CB for the forseeable future.