The Mirror report that after signing Josko Gvardiol, Manchester City will now look to cash in on Aymeric Laporte this summer.
The defender is seemingly viewed as surplus to requirements on the left-hand side of City’s defence, with Nathan Ake and Manuel Akanji also preferred.
Ideally, City want to sell abroad, and they’re looking for a £30m fee. But there’s interest from within the Premier League as well.
According to the Mirror, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, and Aston Villa were all monitoring Laporte’s situation as he often lost his place towards the end of last season.
Gvardiol’s arrival could now act as a catalyst for a move, though there’s no suggestion of any offers going in just yet.
From an Arsenal point of view, it’s hard to see the club prioritising a move for a left-centre-back.
Mikel Arteta has Gabriel Magalhaes, with Jakub Kiwior as a strong alternative. Full-backs Kieran Tierney and Takehiro Tomiyasu can fill in and have filled in on the left in the past, and new signing Jurrien Timber could probably do a job there too.
Laporte is more of a specialist in the position than many of those listed above, and if Arsenal had an unlimited budget you wouldn’t bet against a move for the City man.
But with the Gunners having already committed £200m to new signings and pursuing another significant deal for David Raya, the Laporte transfer seems a bit unrealistic.
