By all accounts, Aymeric Laporte is close to joining Manchester City and the Premier League leaders will pay £57m for a player considered to be one of the best defenders in LaLiga.
In addition it will mean manager Pep Guardiola finally gets his man having tried to sign him in 2016. Guardiola’s first choice stoppers are John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi, but it’s difficult to rely on Vincent Kompany because of his injuries and it is believed the boss is unsure about Eliaquim Mangala’s ability.
Name: Aymeric Laporte
Date of birth: 27 May, 1994
Position: Defender
Nationality: French
The story so far
Having played for hometown club Agen as a young boy, Athletic Bilbao’s incredible scouting network had their eyes on him and, after a stint at Bayonne, Laporte joined Bilbao’s youth set-up at the age of 15.