Manchester City will consider going after Villarreal centre-back Pau Torres if Aymeric Laporte leaves the Etihad this summer, according to The Athletic‘s Sam Lee.

The website’s City correspondent mentioned Torres’s name as the main option when talking about the futures of Laporte and teammate Nathan Ake:

Hello. An article on Ake and Zinchenko, two of the more understated members of the City squad. Happy to be there, which is nice. I’ve also tried to include more context on all the stories about players leaving, because I know it’s a bit bewildering https://t.co/lhSuv4DW24

— Sam Lee (@SamLee) June 13, 2021

Torres is a player in demand. Over the past few weeks, he has been heavily linked with Manchester United, while Chelsea and Arsenal are also thought to be keen admirers of the 24-year-old.

The Spanish international does have a €65m (£55.8m) release clause, which makes him an attractive target, although any move by the Citizens is dependent on another centre-back leaving the club.

Laporte looks the likeliest currently, with the defender wanting more first-team football. The big caveat, though, is whether a team can afford to pay a transfer fee that City would find acceptable. With his departure not guaranteed, a move for Torres is currently not an immediate priority.