Manchester City have reportedly agreed to sign French defender Aymeric Laporte for €50 million from Athletic Bilbao.
The Guardian revealed last month that Manchester City viewed the 21-year-old as a priority signing for when Pep Guardiola takes over in the summer. While the player is currently ruled out until August with a broken leg and dislocated ankle, reports from Spain seem to have confirmed City’s interest in the centre-half, with Basque newspaper EITB claiming that City officials have contacted Bilbao about their intentions to trigger the young Frenchman’s release clause.
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The report stated that the signing of Laporte was “a specific request of Pep Guardiola.”
The £39m signing of the young defender will surely raise eyebrows with the player’s injury situation making the signing questionable considering Laporte’s age. But Pep Guardiola clearly believes the Frenchman will fit in at Manchester City and has shown serious intent by offering such a fee for the youngster.
Laporte sustained a fracture to his right leg and a dislocation of his right ankle during an Under-21 football match between France and Scotland in March. In what was a horrific injury, the player’s ankle and leg appeared to collapse beneath the weight of his body as he struggled to get the ball out of French area. Upon his return to Spain, Athletic Bilbao confirmed that the player would miss the rest of the season.
While the defender is contracted to Bilbao until 2019, he has reportedly been made Guardiola’s number one transfer target, who apparently wants to link the defender with Everton centre-back John Stones.
Aymeric Laporte’s stock has risen quite incredibly over the last year and a half and was recently named in Sportskeeda’s top 10 best youngsters of the season. A product of the famous Basque academy in France, Athletic Bilbao picked him up at a very young age. His talent was there for all to see and he has quickly become a first team regular at Bilbao.
The Centre back has amazing agility and is a fine reader of the game, as well as being a brilliant interceptor of the ball. His speed also enables him to recover quickly in tough situations.
Laporte also shows composure on the ball and has a fine passing ability. These attributes have led big clubs like Barcelona and Real Madrid to chase his signature, with Manchester City now the favourites to wrap up a deal.
