Manchester City have agreed a £57m deal for Athletic Bilbao’s Aymeric Laporte, with the defender set to arrive next week.
The 23-year-old is expected to sign a five-year contract at the Etihad Stadium after City met the centre-half’s release clause and he will travel to Manchester early next week for a medical. Laporte was removed from the Bilbao side that drew 1-1 with Eibar on Friday night, fuelling speculation that a deal was done.
After missing out on Virgil van Dijk and Alexis Sánchez in this transfer window so far the City head coach, Pep Guardiola, will welcome the defensive reinforcements with persistent injury doubts over Vincent Kompany.
Laporte, who has yet to win a full cap for France but has made almost 200 appearances for Bilbao since making his debut in 2012, is also predominantly left-footed and has been earmarked as a long-term partner in central defence for John Stones while also being able to fill in at left-back.
City lost Benjamin Mendy to a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament earlier in the season and Fabian Delph has been forced to fill in with Danilo looking decidely uncomfortable at times.
City were also linked with West Brom’s Jonny Evans but that deal now looks unlikely with Laporte set to become City’s record signing, eclipsing the £55m paid for Kevin de Bruyne in 2015. The Belgium midfielder signed a new contract with the Premier League leaders this week that runs until 2023.
Earlier in the day Guardiola was tight-lipped over his prospective signing. “He’s a player for Bilbao. It’s the same as other players in the clubs, I didn’t speak about previous players. If it happens, it happens. If not, then it doesn’t,” he said.
