According to the latest information provided by Fabrizio Romano, many clubs are looking at the potential signing of Aymeric Laporte, with Barcelona mentioned as one suitor, with Manchester City targeting Josko Gvardiol.
While the £57.2 million (Guardian) defender has been injured for large stretches of the season, Pep Guardiola has often not favoured him as well, seeing how he has started a mere 6 Premier League games so far.
But it seems as if Barcelona are one of the many clubs that could now sign Aymeric Laporte, with Manchester City lining up a transfer for Josko Gvardiol in the summer.
Barcelona targeting Aymeric Laporte amongst many clubs
While it has been previously claimed that Xavi’s side will not target Bernardo Silva next season, it would not be a surprise if they do, alongside other reported targets such as Ilkay Gundogan.
Keeping that in mind, Fabrizio Romano’s revelation does not come as a surprise about Barcelona being one of the many clubs ready to snap up the signing of Aymeric Laporte, with Manchester City prepared to sign Josko Gvardiol, who has been described as a ‘priority target.’
Ultimately, the former Athletic Bilbao central defender has been a world-class player during his time at City and it would only be right to replace him with one of the most talented up-and-coming defenders in the world.
A Laporte-Gvardiol shake-up at Manchester City makes sense
While it would be a shame for Manchester City to lose a player of the calibre of Aymeric Laporte to Barcelona or any European giant, bringing in another left-footed ball-playing centre-back as a replacement in Josko Gvardiol makes complete sense. After all, Pep Guardiola did once say that the former was the best left-footed centre-half on the planet, as quoted by NBC Sports.
Considering senior players such as Kevin De Bruyne (31), Riyad Mahrez (32) and Ilkay Gundogan (32) are ageing as well, signing a 21-year-old who is not even close to his peak would be a smart signing.
As brilliant as Laporte has been, Gvardiol has the potential to even potentially surpass his exploits one day.
