Eliaquim Mangala has admitted that he has struggled to deal with the challenges of playing in the Premier League since his move to Manchester City in the summer.

The Frenchman was a £32m signing from Porto before the beginning of the season, but he has found it difficult to produce his best form on a consistent basis, and he is hopeful of eventually becoming more comfortable at the back for the champions.

"My debut against Chelsea went very well," the 23-year-old is quoted as saying by The Guardian. "After that I had games that didn't go as well as I would have liked and some that went great.

"I need to be more consistent – not to have one good game, then a bad game, two good games, and one medium performance and so on.

"Of course there is a period of adjustment that every player makes when they arrive in England. I was expecting a quick pace, intensity and physical games. But there is a difference between what you think you will find out and what you actually experience and it would be true to say the physicality and intensity is more than I'd imagined when I first arrived."

Mangala has started 13 times in the league this season as he continues to battle with Martin Demichelis for a place in defence alongside captain Vincent Kompany.