Manchester City defender Aymeric Laporte is reportedly set to join Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr in a €30 million deal.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Manchester City have agreed on a deal to sell Aymeric Laporte to Al-Nassr for a fee of around €30 million. The 29-year-old will sign a lucrative contract at the Saudi Arabian club.
Laporte has been linked with a move away from Manchester City for weeks, and he has been linked with a number of clubs including Arsenal and Aston Villa. However, it seems that the former Athletic Club defender has chosen to move to the Saudi league.
The 29-year-old has proven his quality in the Premier League over the years, helping Manchester City win multiple trophies. But was not a key member of the squad that won the treble with Manchester City last season. So it is hardly surprising that the Spanish internaitonal will look to embark on a new adventure now.
The player is still very much at the peak of his powers, and he could have stayed in a top European league. Recent reports have also linked him with Real Madrid. But the Manchester City outcast has chosen to join Al-Nassr, where he will pen a lucrative contract.
Aymeric Laporte to Al Nassr, here we go! Agreement reached also on player side — salary in excess of $20m, medical booked 🚨🟡🔵🇸🇦 #AlNassr
Laporte will sign until June 2026.
Man City to receive package close to €30m.
🇵🇹🇪🇸 Otávio and Laporte will join Al Nassr next week. pic.twitter.com/aMKIEgX9PM
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 20, 2023
The enticing proposal from the Saudi Pro League club was always going to be hard to turn down. So Laporte has now decided to join a host of other Premier League stars who have chosen to move to the Middle East.
Meanwhile, he would have struggled for regular game time at Manchester City if he had stayed beyond this summer. The Premier League champions have already signed Josko Gvardiol from RB Leipzig, and he is likely to be a regular starter for Manchester City this season.
It will be interesting to see if the Premier League giants decide to invest the €30 million proceeds from his sale to bring in more quality and depth to the squad. Manchester City will be hoping to win the major trophies this season as well, and they could certainly use more depth, especially in the midfield.
Al-Nassr have done some impressive business during the summer transfer window, and they are looking to improve the squad further. Someone like Laporte will bring reliability at the back and an abundance of winning experience at the top level.
