Manchester City are set to beat a host of Premier League sides to the signature of highly-rated Athletic Bilbao defender Aymeric Laporte, report the Daily Mirror.
Incoming boss Pep Guardiola has a task on his hands sorting out the Blues defence, but links with the likes of Laporte, 21, suggest City are not hanging around in their pursuit for a central defender.
The Frenchman is said to have agreed, in principle, a £35 million move to the Blues.
He injured himself on international commitments last month with France’s Under-21’s, and subsequently lost interest from the likes of Barcelona and rivals Manchester United, who were following him closely.
But City seem to value him highly and an agreement for Laporte marks a huge signal of intent as the Blues look to regain stability at the back.
Laporte joined Athletic Bilbao’s youth system in 2010 and made his first La Liga appearance in 2012. He has featured for the Spanish side a total of 100 times since.
