Barcelona are weighing up a move for Manchester City defender Aymeric Laporte, according to reports in the Spanish press. The Catalan club have been watching his progress since his time at Athletic Bilbao.
They have kept track of him following his £57m move to City in 2018, and they have now added him to a shortlist of targets ahead of next summer.
Fans on Twitter don’t think City would consider letting Laporte leave:
Hands off
— Tarondip Rana (@hotshake365) January 9, 2020
Barca can jog on!
— ELM (@Emmamoorhouse) January 9, 2020
Won’t happen
— M.Garcia (@EricGarciaMCFC) January 9, 2020
No pls
— Formula Sky Blues (@Formula_SB) January 9, 2020
They could offer us Messi and sell the Nou Camp and I still wouldn't do the deal.
— I'm not really here (@HereReallyNotIm) January 9, 2020
Keep rating him highly… But he isn't coming
— Erlich Barchmann (@py_cruz) January 9, 2020
Give us Messi and it's a deal done
— Sangzz (@purutmcfc) January 9, 2020
125 million
— Sofi sane (@sane_sofi) January 9, 2020
140 mil+ all their La Masia guys till the end of this century and we will only think
— KopatychInFightFootballMood (@KopatychInMood) January 9, 2020
347 million with buy back clause ? ✅
— ? ?? NITISH ?? ? (@cityzen_nitish) January 9, 2020
Laporte is manager Pep Guardiola‘s key centre-back, especially after the retirement of captain Vincent Kompany last year, and the Frenchman has been missed since he was sidelined with a knee injury near the beginning of the campaign.
The only worry would be if the 25-year-old was looking to leave the club and return to Spain. He has shown no signs that he is keen on moving, though, and City will likely do all they can to keep hold of their best defender.