Manchester City may opt against entertaining approaches from Arsenal for Aymeric Laporte to avoid selling players to the Gunners.
According to Ryan Taylor of the Express, Manchester City are hesitant to sell Aymeric Laporte to Arsenal ahead of a possible approach. The Gunners were thrown back into the market for a left-sided defender after the severe knee injury to Jurrien Timber as they explored many options.
Arsenal’s narrow win over Nottingham Forest on the opening weekend got overshadowed by the serious knee injury to Jurrien Timber. The Dutchman had only arrived in the summer from Ajax and thoroughly impressed during pre-season and the Community Shield. But now, the Gunners will not have him for an extended period.
As per the official communication, Arsenal confirmed the defender had sustained a severe knee injury but did not mention the nature or the extent of the problem. Widespread reports claim it’s an ACL problem, which could see the Dutchman miss most of the current season.
It is a severe blow to Mikel Arteta’s plans, as Arsenal have returned to the transfer market for a new left-sided defender. Ideally, the manager will look for a like-for-like replacement for Timber. The suggestions are the Spaniard will seek a player who can invert from left back like Oleksandr Zinchenko does or how Timber played until now.
Hence, the options are far and few, with Manchester City’s £57 million signing from 2018, Aymeric Laporte one of them. The Spanish international remains out of favour under Pep Guardiola, with the club open to offers for the left centre-back.
Laporte can also play as a left-back in Guardiola’s system, which does not need the player to do traditional full-back duties. In a way, the Premier League winner is perfect for Arsenal, and Arteta has previously admired the player. Manchester City had decided against selling any players to the Gunners after last summer’s success with Gabriel Jesus and Zinchenko.
Hence, it is difficult to see them selling the player for whom they wanted at least £30 million, as per previous reports. Arsenal could now look at other alternatives, with the report throwing in names like previous targets Timothy Castagne and Kyle Walker-Peters in the mix.
There is also mention of Barcelona target Joao Cancelo, who Arsenal held an interest early in the window. Then again, Manchester City will not consider selling to the Gunners, which could rule out a move for the Portuguese international or Laporte.
They could also look at Ivan Fresnada from Real Valladolid, as Arsenal could revisit their old interest in the Premier League winner. As for Laporte, he could have suited the Gunners’ cause for the season and offset the massive loss of Timber in the process. They might still make an approach and leave it for Manchester City and the player to decide.
