Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has explained recalling Eliaquim Mangala over recent weeks.

Guardiola revealed that he had a heart-to-heart with France international Mangala, once his £23 million move to Crystal Palace collapsed in the summer.

“We were clear on Mangala that we needed a solution," he said. “The moment we didn't I met with him in my office and said 'Now you are our player, you'll be treated like the other ones'.

“The reason was that we were looking for another type of player, and he knows that.

“But he has a quality that our other central defenders don't have and in some games he is going to help us.

“Maybe we are thinking of looking at another central defender because of Vincent with a lot of games, and John Stones is four or five weeks off in the season."