Manchester City‘s reported desire to bring Athletic Bilbao defender Aymeric Laporte to the Etihad Stadium has been dented by the club’s insistence that the player has no interest in moving.
At the beginning of the month, the Daily Mail reported that the defender was confident that he would soon complete a £39.2 million deal to the Etihad Stadium, having been made a key target by incoming coach Pep Guardiola.
However, the Sky Blues and their high-profile Spanish boss may have to look elsewhere, with the Basque club’s president Josu Urrutia telling journalists that his player has no intention of leaving the Rojiblancos.
“Neither Laporte or any other player want to leave,” the club chief began, as reported by Marca.
However, the Spanish source report that he Urrutia wouldn’t confirm that he has offered the defensive player a new deal, with the 21-year-old Agen-born stopper’s current deal set to end in 2019.
Even if Laporte was keen to leave the club this summer, he would have represented a short-term gamble for the Citizens due to a long-term injury.
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The defender suffered a horror injury towards the end of the Liga season—dislocating his ankle and breaking his right leg—and Guardiola and his new employers may be wise to monitor the youngster’s recovery before splashing the cash.
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