Manchester City are trying to bring in Josko Gvardiol from RB Leipzig and once the defender joins the Etihad Stadium then Aymeric Laporte is free to leave, as per the latest reports.
Laporte has been with MCFC since 2018 but he’s slowly fallen down the pecking order and last season, he started in only 11 Premier League games for the Cityzens. Ruben Dias, Manuel Akanji, Nathan Ake and John Stones are all above him in the squad so if Josko Gvardiol arrives Pep Guardiola will have no problems in letting Laporte leave.
Aymeric Laporte has played in 179 games for MCFC across all competitions and the club had paid €65 million for him in 2018. However, his current market value is only €25 million and his contract expires in the summer of 2025.
City will have to pay a very steep transfer fee for the Gvardiol so they will want to recoup as much money as possible however they won’t get anything more than €30-35 million for Aymeric Laporte.
Which club will Aymeric Laporte join once he leaves MCFC?
Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa had been previously linked with the 29-year-old central defender and very recently, Crystal Palace have also shown an interest in him.
Saudi Pro League club Al Ahli have also been linked with the defender and if he is after a hefty package(like a lot of other top players) then he won’t think twice before snubbing all the English clubs and moving to the Middle East.
Out of the three Premier League clubs, Tottenham Hotspur will feel they have the best chance of bringing in the defender but Villa have been brilliant under Unai Emery so they stand a great chance as well.
Juventus are another club who are keeping tabs on Aymeric Laporte as they look for a long-term replacement for Leonardo Bonucci. Juve have marked the Manchester City misfit as one of the ‘priority targets’ so we expect the Italians to jump straight in once Guardiola gives the green light.
FC Barcelona had also been linked with the centre-back but they have signed Inigo Martinez so we don’t think Xavi’s side are going to make any move for the Man City man.
The defender has enough suitors so dumping him shouldn’t be a big cause of concern for Manchester City but if they can send him out of England it will be the best decision. However, neither Villa, Spurs or Palace is at City’s level right now so if one of them comes up with the right offer Pep Guardiola won’t hesitate either.
As things stand, Laporte’s exit from the club fully depends on when Josko Gvardiol arrives at MCFC but until then, it’s really hard to predict which one of the interested clubs is going to be the likely destination for the Spain international. Aymeric Laporte will obviously want to remain at the top level so Champions League football can become a driving force in determining his future.
