Manchester City defender Aymeric Laporte wants Barcelona summer move | OneFootball

Manchester City centre-back Aymeric Laporte is pursuing a move to Barcelona in the summer, according to Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo.

Laporte signed for Man City in January 2018, for a then-club record fee of around £57 million.

In his first six months, he made 13 appearances in all competitions, helping his side to a record-breaking 100 points in the Premier League.

The following year, he became one of the Cityzens’ most important players. He was selected in the PFA Premier League Team of the Season for 2018/19 as the club won all three domestic trophies.

Since then, the former Athletic Bilbao man has continued to have success at the Etihad Stadium. He has won eight trophies in England, scoring the winning goal in the 2021 Carabao Cup final against Tottenham Hotspur.

However, Laporte’s game time has been limited this season due to injuries and high competition. The likes of Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake, Manuel Akanji and John Stones have all played more minutes than the 28-year-old this term.

As a result, the Spain international is reportedly looking for a move elsewhere. According to Mundo Deportivo, he favours a transfer to Barcelona.

La Blaugrana currently boast the best defensive record in Europe’s top five leagues, conceding just eight goals from 24 games.

This has helped them establish a healthy nine-point lead at the top of La Liga with 14 games to go.

However, there are still some question marks over their depth at the back. While they have been excellent domestically, their results in Europe have been disastrous, exiting the Champions League in the group stages and failing to progress past the Europa League play-offs.

Barcelona’s transfer window plans have been thrown into disarray recently due to their financial state. La Liga president Javier Tebas stated that they have to raise €200m from player sales and wage bill reductions before they can register new signings.

It is unclear which players will be offloaded to make way for arrivals. Frenkie de Jong is rumoured to be their highest earner, so could be one of the first out of the door, while the likes of Raphinha and Franck Kessie are also strongly linked with departures.