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Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini is eager to push through the signing of defender Eliaquim Mangala from Porto before the start of the league season.
City begin their Premier League defence away at Newcastle on Sunday and Pellegrini hopes to put an end to Mangala's protracted move to the Etihad Stadium.
The 23-year-old passed his medical and agreed personal terms on July 12 but the deal has been complicated by a third-party ownership.
However, the drawn-out deal is believed to be on the brink of completion and Pellegrini, speaking after Manchester City's 3-0 defeat to Arsenal in the Community Shield, revealed the club are waiting on some paperwork to push it through.
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Asked if he would get the deal over the line before City's opener at St. James' Par, the Chilean said: "I hope so.
"Maybe we need some papers but we continue our interest in the player who wants to come so we'll see what happens.
"We need to demonstrate from the beginning why we want to title this year and repeat last year. We have a chance to do it and we have a good squad."
