If a variety of recent reports are to be believed, Athletic Bilbao defender Aymeric Laporte is currently the most coveted young centre-back in European football.
In Spain, Barcelona are said to hold a strong interest in the 20-year-old, while Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea have all been linked with big-money moves for the Frenchman over the past week or so.
The price is £32m and no less. Bilbao are notorious – ahem Ander Herrera – for refusing to sell their stars unless the full buy-out is paid and interested parties will indeed have to part with in excess to £30m for the tall central defender.
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Born in Agen, France on May 27, 1994, Laporte played for local French teams SU Agen and Bayonne, before joining Bilbao's youth system in 2010. He represented Basconia and Bilbao Athletic, but it did not take long for the youngster to be thrown into the first-team picture.
The Frenchman's Bilbao debut came against Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona in the Europa League in November 2012, before he was handed his La Liga debut at home to Celta Vigo on December 2012. Since then, Laporte has been an ever-present for the Basque outfit, already making close to 60 league appearances.
The defender also fulfilled his dream of representing Bilbao in the Champions League this season, although the Spanish side have struggled in Europe. Bilbao's league form this season has also been disappointing, with just 12 points from 11 matches leaving them 11th in the table.
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Interestingly, Laporte has represented France at Under-17, Under-18, Under-19 and Under-21 level, but has not yet been called up to the senior squad. As a result, Spain are understood to be exploring the possibility of acquiring the youngster, who would be eligible after spending more than five years in Spain.
The fact that France have not issued the call is a bit of a mystery and Laporte himself has revealed that Spain boss Vicente del Bosque wanted the defender as part of his senior squad for the 2014 World Cup.
Why all the fuss? Laporte has absolutely everything. Pace, strength and power, in addition to excellent technical ability and a reading of the game that defies his birth certificate. The price is hefty, but the defender has another 10 or 15 years left at the top level, which is an attractive proposition for interested clubs.
Last week, it was revealed that Laporte had sacked his agent Arturo Canales just one month after taking him on. Whether that has anything to do with recent speculation is open to discussion, but something is certainly happening behind the scenes. There is rarely smoke without fire.
January is rarely the preferred time to spend big money, but it does appear that Laporte could be on the move at the start of 2015.
Matt Law
