The Man City defender is a perfect snapshot of what Liverpool have been targeting, but he looks set for move to the Middle East.
Manchester City have reportedly agreed a deal to sell Aymeric Laporte to Al-Nassr as the Saudi Arabian revolution continues. Laporte, 29, is a hugely experienced member of Pep Guardiola’s squad having signed in 2018 and he went onto win five league titles as a key part of City’s defence.
Laporte did undergo knee surgery last summer which kept him out of the start of last season and the form of the likes of Rico Lewis, Nathan Ake and Manuel Akanji made them impossible to drop, leaving Laporte out in the cold. He did feature for 11 minutes at the end of the Community Shield loss to Arsenal as well as against Burnley in the dying embers of the 3-0 win.
Ironically, the Liverpool foe would be the perfect defensive addition to Jurgen Klopp’s new system, where else on the market can you find a player with this much experience, tactical flexibility, quality on the ball and is available to sign?
As it stands Al-Nassr, the same club that already possesses former Liverpool forward Sadio Mane and Cristiano Ronaldo, have seemingly agreed a deal to sign the defender according to David Ornstein at The Athletic.
With only 12 Premier League appearances to his name last season, Laporte was already down the pecking order before the signing of Josko Gvardiol and now he looks set for a move away. But the fact that Laporte is being deemed surplus to requirements makes him a very shrewd deal for whoever will sign the experienced Spanish international.
For Liverpool, a left-footed centre-back had been widely reported to be amongst their key targets, alongside multiple midfielders. They had been previously heavily interested in Levi Colwill, before Chelsea managed to tie him down to a six-year-deal, as well as having a small interest in Tottenham’s signing Micky van de Ven.
Of course, at 29, he doesn’t fit the age bracket they are looking at for a defender. The Athletic had previously reported that a left-footed centre-back had to be 24 or below and seen as someone who can be for the present and the future.
However, Laporte is in the elite tier of ball-playing centre-backs; he ranks between the 97th-99th percentiles for pass completion, passes attempted, progressive passes and carries and he would no doubt be a huge boost for whoever he signs for.
Plus, at 29, he still has time to enjoy another successful spell elsewhere. However, Saudi Arabia will not offer the same quality of football that he once dominated in England
City have accepted an offer for Ayermic Laporte from Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr and the defender is thought to be open to the possibility of a move to the Gulf state.
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