Barcelona have been dealt a major blow in their bid to sign Aymeric Laporte, with Manchester City unwilling to sell the 27-year-old defender.
According to a report by Spanish publication Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona’s hopes of signing Aymeric Laporte in the summer transfer window have been squashed. Manchester City will not sell the 27-year-old defender to any suitor as he is a key figure for Pep Guardiola.
Aymeric Laporte joined Manchester City from Athletic Bilbao in January 2018 and has since endured his fair share of highs and lows. The player has spent most of his stint with the Citizens as a first-choice centre-back, but he fell behind John Stones in the pecking order in the 2020/21 season.
That situation has been addressed in the ongoing campaign, as Laporte has featured 20 times in all competitions for Manchester City, amassing 1,690 minutes of game-time in the process. At the same time, the 27-year-old has also become a regular feature for the Spanish national side. As a result, several European bigwigs have noticed the player’s progress, including Barcelona.
The interest from Barcelona is understandable, considering Eric Garcia has not set the stage alight since arriving on a free transfer from Manchester City last summer. With Gerard Pique approaching the end of his illustrious career, it behoves Barcelona to invest in a centre-back.
The Blaugrana’s urgency to secure the services of a central defender is further accentuated by the uncertainty surrounding the futures of Clement Lenglet and Samuel Umtiti. While Umtiti has been deemed surplus to requirements by Barcelona, his compatriot could also be sold to fund moves in the summer transfer window.
To that end, Laporte is a viable target for Barcelona, who are lining up a summer move for the Manchester City defender. However, the Catalan giants have been handed a major blow in pursuit of the 27-year-old, as Manchester City will not sell him to any suitor at any cost.
Manchester City’s prospects of retaining the Spanish international are bolstered by reports claiming Laporte is uninterested in joining Barcelona. With the former Athletic Bilbao defender unlikely to arrive at Camp Nou in the summer, it will be interesting to see who emerges as the next key defensive target for Barcelona.