City eye record bid for French defender
Barcelona's Argentinian forward Lionel Messi (right) vies with Athletic Bilbao's defender Aymeric Laporte during a past match. Bilbao have announced that Laporte is leaving the clubPHOTO | FILE |
What you need to know:
- City's current transfer record is £55million.
- They paid VfL Wolfsburg for Belgian international Kevin de Bruyne in 2015.
LONDON
Highly-regarded French defender Aymeric Laporte could become runaway Premier League leaders Manchester City's record signing according to British media reports on Thursday.
The 23-year-old centre-back — who has been at Athletic Bilbao since he was 16 — would cost City £57million ($81million, Sh8.1 billion) owing to a release clause in his contract at Bilbao but would resolve a problematic area for manager Pep Guardiola where veteran Vincent Kompany is injury-prone and Frenchman Eliaquim Mangala has not impressed.
Laporte — whose move reportedly would be dependent on Mangala moving on — would provide cover for present first-choice pairing England international John Stones and Argentinian Nicolas Otamendi.
According to The Sun and the BBC, Guardiola favours investing that amount in Laporte — who has yet to win a senior France cap though he was called up for two 2018 World Cup qualifiers — than spending around £24million on rivals West Bromwich Albion's 30-year-old Northern Irish central defender Jonny Evans.
City's current transfer record is £55million. They paid VfL Wolfsburg for Belgian international Kevin de Bruyne in 2015.
