Manchester City would reportedly much prefer to sell Aymeric Laporte to a foreign club.
The club yesterday announced that Josko Gvardiol has finally joined the club from RB Leipzig.
Gvardiol joins as the club’s second signing of the summer after Mateo Kovacic.
The £77.5 million deal makes him the second most expensive defender in the world after Harry Maguire.
Gvardiol’s signing is undoutbedly very exciting. He has all the tools the become the best in the world in his position in the coming years.
With Gvardiol signing, the future of Laporte at City becomes even more doubtful.
And now, there is an update on that situation.
Man City now looking to sell Aymeric Laporte abroad
The Mirror reported last night that the Gvardiol signing should now pave the way for Laporte to leave.
Spaniard Laporte has struggled for game time at the Etihad over the past year.
Last term, Pep Guardiola regularly overlooked him in favour of the likes of Nathan Ake and Manuel Akanji.
Many are expecting him to depart, and now it looks more likely that ever.
The Mirror say that City would much prefer to sell Laporte to a club overseas. They are thought to value him around the £30 million mark.
Laporte has had interest from Premier League clubs such as Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur.
Recently though, it has been claimed that Paris Saint-Germain – now managed by former Spain boss Luis Enrique – and Athletic Bilbao are keen.
Selling Laporte abroad should indeed be the aim for City
If City can sell Laporte to a club overseas then that would be absolutely fantastic.
That £30 million asking price should invite clubs from other leagues to the table.
At the end of the day, Laporte is still a top level central defender and would improve most starting XIs out there.
He’s in a tricky spot right now at City. Those around him have just been so good in recent times.
Laporte is still quality and it’s no surprise interest in him is fairly high. Only three years ago, Pep Guardiola called Laporte the ‘best left centre-back in the world’ (via Sky Sports).
Hopefully, City can reach an agreement with either Bilbao or PSG, meaning there would be less chance of the 29-year-old having a negative impact on City.
