Manchester City are on the brink of completing a club record deal to sign Aymeric Laporte.
Pep Guardiola has been on the lookout for a new central defender for a number of months, with former Man Utd defender Jonny Evans having been linked in the summer and once again this month.
However, out of the blue earlier this week, City were linked with having an interest in the Athletic Bilbao defender Aymeric Laporte and it seems that the deal has progressed quickly.
The Spanish club have a long tradition of only fielding Basque players, meaning that they only have a limited selection of players to choose from. This in turn means that they do not accept any bids for their players, and players can only leave if potential suitors pay their release clause.
Laporte’s release clause stands at £57m, and when the deal is complete, he will become the most expensive player in Manchester City’s history, eclipsing the £55m that they paid for Kevin de Bruyne.
Reports in Spain claim that the 23-year-old has already agreed personal terms while Marca report Laporte completed the first part of his medical in the Basque capital and will travel to Manchester on Monday evening for talks.
He was given permission by Athletic to undergo a blood test at private clinic in the centre of Bilbao. He immediately returned to complete a training session with the La Liga club, which is likely to be his last at the club.
Laporte was left out of Athletics’ 1-1 draw with Eibar on Friday evening.