Barcelona have rekindled their pursuit of Aymeric Laporte, with the 27-year-old Spanish international likely to be open to a switch to Camp Nou.
According to a report by Spanish outlet Fichajes, Barcelona are eager to bolster the heart of their defence in a future transfer window. To that end, the Catalan giants seem to have created a shortlist of candidates to be the ideal reinforcement, with Aymeric Laporte one of the names featuring on this list.
Aymeric Laporte joined Barcelona from Athletic Bilbao in January 2018 and has since made a lot of progress in his career. The 27-year-old took little time to settle in at the Etihad, establishing himself as one of the best defenders in the Premier League before a forgettable 2020/21 season, wherein John Stones ended up usurping him in the pecking order for centre-backs.
However, Laporte has started the ongoing campaign strongly, having featured in three of the four games that Manchester City have played so far, even scoring a goal. This past summer, he even made his debut for the Spanish national side, impressing a great deal at UEFA Euro 2020. And now, the player is being pursued by Barcelona.
Barcelona were, in fact, keen on signing Laporte in the summer transfer window as well before a move failed to materialise. The continued interest in the 27-year-old make sense as well, owing to the decline in Clement Lenglet’s performance levels as well as the fact that Samuel Umtiti is as good as being surplus to requirements.
In addition, Gerard Pique is in the twilight of his career and is approaching the end of his playing days, although summer arrival Eric Garcia is likely to be his long-term successor. However, the situation surrounding Lenglet and Umtiti necessitates the addition of a left-footed centre-back.
This is where Laporte comes into the picture, with the 27-year-old Spanish international open to a return to La Liga as well. Meanwhile, apart from Laporte, the likes of Sven Botman, Mohammed Salisu, Matthijs de Ligt and Cristian Romero are also on Barcelona’s radar.
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What now remains to be seen is if Barcelona make a serious effort to sign Laporte, although he is likely to cost a sizeable amount in transfer fee. For now, the Manchester City defender is one of five defenders Barcelona are keeping an eye on for central defensive reinforcement.