Manchester City agree to pay £39million for Athletic Bilbao defender Aymeric Laporte
Pep Guardiola keen to snare Frenchman just ten weeks after he broke his leg and dislocated his ankle on international duty
MANCHESTER CITY are ready to pay £39million to net Aymeric Laporte after the Athletic Bilbao centre-back stepped up his recovery from a broken leg.
France under-21 international Laporte was one of two key signings identified by incoming boss Pep Guardiola when he agreed to take over on February 1.
And with Ilkay Gundogan already in the bag after sealing a £21million deal from Dortmund, Guardiola now wants to sign Barcelona target Laporte — who is regarded as the finest central defensive talent in Europe.
The 22-year-old now has to discuss with his agents — former Spain internationals Carles Puyol and Ivan de la Pena — whether to pen a contract extension in the Basque Country or sign up for Guardiola’s City project.
Bilbao officials have refused to accept anything less than his £39m in Laporte’s release clause, with City hoping to broker a deal closer to the £30m mark.
But they are now prepared to trigger talks as Guardiola intensifies his recruitment drive.
The deal looked in jeopardy when Laporte was taken off on a stretcher after breaking his leg and dislocating his ankle in an under-21 international against Scotland in March.
But Laporte has begun light training again and posted videos of himself on Twitter playing golf and jogging over the last 10 days.
Laporte is still not expected to be back in action until August, but Guardiola has already proved his commitment to one of his key targets by bringing in Gundogan — despite the Germany international midfielder undergoing surgery on a dislocated knee that is expected to keep him on the sidelines for several games at the start of next season.
Guardiola now wants City’s sporting director Txiki Begiristain to get the Laporte deal over the line and help solve the club’s problem position.
The Citizens spent an astonishing £63.6m combined on central defenders Eliaquim Mangala and Nicolas Otamendi.
But both have played nowhere near the level expected of their mega price tags, with Frenchman Mangala setting them back £31.9m from Porto and Valencia’s Otamendi joining for £31.7m.
Belgian skipper Vincent Kompany has proved far from reliable after a string of injuries, the latest of which required thigh surgery which keeps him out of Euro 2016 and Premier League action until September.
Laporte is seen as part of Guardiola’s long-term plans, as a centre-back who is superb on the ball with a left foot that adds balance to his team’s backline.
He moved to Bilbao from French club Bayonne at the age of 16, playing almost 140 games since and winning the Supercopa de Espana.