Al Nassr coach Jorge Jesus has confirmed that Aymeric Laporte will be leaving the club following the recent arrival of João Félix.
After an underwhelming period at Chelsea, Félix made his inevitable Stamford Bridge exit on Tuesday as he teamed up with compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo at Al Nassr. The 25-year-old cost the Saudi Pro League side £43.7 million ($57.8 million) in a move that has made him the player with the fourth highest total of accumulated transfer fees ever.
However, the arrival of one European will be followed by the exit of another, with Laporte set to leave Al Nassr in the near future—something Jesus revealed after the club’s recent 2–1 pre-season win over Toulouse.
“Laporte is going to leave and a center back will be coming in,” said the 71-year-old, who only became the Al Nassr boss in July after previous stints with Al Hilal.
The Spain international defender moved to Asia in 2023 and has since made 69 appearances for Al Nassr, scoring nine times since leaving Manchester City for £23.5 million ($30 million). He also won Euro 2024 with La Roja during his time in Saudi Arabia.
Laporte’s next destination remains uncertain but the he has been strongly linked with a return to former club Athletic Club. He made 222 appearances for the Basque outfit between 2012 and 2018.
Athletic Club are currently lacking depth in the heart of defense, with their issues exacerbated by a recent injury suffered by Unai Egiluz during pre-season. Aitor Paredes is also absent with injury, leaving the La Liga outfit with just two fit senior center backs.
“At the moment, I don’t expect anything; we’ll see. I’m more focused on what we have here right now,” Athletic Club coach Ernesto Valverde admitted when asked about signing a center back.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Al Nassr Confirm Huge Departure After Joao Felix Signing.
