Aymeric Laporte is being targeted by Pep Guardiola as he seeks to strengthen his defence.
According to The Sun, Manchester City are aiming to bring in the French centre-back during the January transfer window. Laporte has been a target of multiple top clubs, including City, over the past few seasons; this is because of passing ability as well as his expertise at cutting out opposition threats.
His mixture of composure, intelligence and physicality means he is a modern centre-back in every sense.
His release clause is €65m until the end of the season when it rises to €70m. This slight rise is unlikely to affect City’s decision-making, but signing him in January means they don’t have to rely on Vincent Kompany or Eliaquim Mangala for the rest of the season. The Belgian is injury-prone while Mangala isn’t the most reliable.
Laporte is a key figure at Bilbao due to gradually rising to become the key cog in the defence. Last season he helped the club to a 7th place finish as well as the Round of Sixteen in the Europa League.
Only a slight difference, but just a reminder this is the final season Aymeric Laporte’s clause is €65m. As of 2018/2019 it goes up to €70m and remains that amount until 2020 when his contract expires. #MCFC
— David Cartlidge (@davidjaca) January 23, 2018
This is impressive considering the club only uses players from the Basque region. Laporte is a slight exception because he is from the Aquitaine region in France which has tenuous links with Basque country.
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Centre-back hierarchy
The main issue with bringing in the French defender is how it affects the current hierarchy of centre-backs. He will definitely be above Kompany and Mangala in the pecking order. However, John Stones is clearly the main centre-back at the club and Nicolás Otamendi has just signed a contract extension.
Laporte can play in all competitions because Bilbao weren’t in Europe due to finishing seventh last season. This means that this issue can be averted in the short-term through effective rotation from Guardiola.
The long-term is the main problem, though, because all three players will want to start. Otamendi’s playing time may have to be sacrificed because he is the oldest. If so, the decision to commit him to a new contract seems odd.
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A potential solution is that Guardiola could opt to use three at the back, but City play best in a 4-3-3 formation. Having Stones and Laporte playing together is a strong long-term partnership. It also boosts the respective strengths of the players because Laporte doesn’t have to be the incisive passer from deep while Stones can afford to take more risks due to the intelligent cover provided by his defensive partner. This would be a smart move, but it would give Guardiola another selection headache.