Manchester City have agreed to pay the €50m (£39m) release clause to sign French defender Aymeric Laporte in the summer from Athletic Bilbao, according to reports in Spain.
As revealed by the Guardian last month, City have identified the 21-year-old as their top defensive target for new coach Pep Guardiola despite the centre-half being ruled out until August with a broken leg and dislocated ankle.
The club’s sporting director Txiki Begiristain was pictured in Bilbao last month, with Basque newspaper EITB reporting that City have told Athletic officials that they are willing to meet his release clause. “It is a specific request of Pep Guardiola,” read the report.
Laporte, who moved to Athletic as a 16-year-old, has signed four contract extensions since December 2013 as his status as one of the world’s best young defenders has grown.
