Star Manchester City defender Aymeric Laporte is a target for La Liga giants Barcelona. The French-born defender previously played for Athletic Bilbao in La Liga, making over 200 appearances for them before joining Manchester City in 2018.
As per Spain’s Sport, Barcelona are keen on signing the 27-year-old defender, and that Barca will only be interested in a swap deal as they will not be able to afford his transfer fee. The report states that the relationship between the Barca and City board is stronger now and that a deal could indeed materialize. The report further claims that City manager Pep Guardiola is a fan of versatile Barcelona player Sergi Roberto, and the deal for Laporte could see the Spaniard move to England. The La Liga side are also looking to sell French centre-back Samuel Umtiti.
Aymeric Laporte moved to City for a fee of £57 million after the Premier League giants triggered his release clause at Athletic Bilbao. He still has four years remaining on his City contract.
Aymeric Laporte: A good move for Barcelona?
Aymeric Laporte didn’t see as much game time as he would have hoped for in the 2020-21 season as Guardiola chose to pair Ruben Dias with John Stones at the back. The new Spanish international played just 16 Premier League games and made a further four appearances in the Champions League.
Laporte is seen by many as a world-class defender who is a superb passer of the ball, averaging 79.6 passes per game in the league and completing over 90% of them. The French-born player is also superb at playing long balls from his centre-back position. Defensively, Laporte has shown great awareness to know where an attacker is, even when playing high up the pitch, and use his strength to shield and shepherd the ball away. He is a ball-playing centre-back who can defend, and also chip in with a few crucial goals.
Barcelona had five central defensive options as part of their first-team squad in the recently concluded season – youngsters, Ronald Araujo and Oscar Mingueza, veteran defender Gerard Pique, and French internationals, Clement Lenglet and Samuel Umtiti. Laporte’s Manchester City team-mate Eric Garcia will also return to the Nou Camp. Umtiti will most likely be sold, while Pique may play a smaller part in the coming seasons owing to his age. It’s expected that Lenglet will be a first-choice central defender for Barcelona next season.
Aymeric Laporte could be a long-term replacement for Pique at the club and signing him would be a wise move, considering his experience, ability, as well as his previous knowledge of La Liga. This would be a step in the right direction for Barca in rebuilding their team.