It remains no secret that FC Barcelona are currently in the market for a new center-back who possesses a dominant and reliable left foot to aid the Catalans in more positional and possessional aspects, alongside adding a new dynamic to their defensive structure.
According to recent reports, one of the players amongst those that La Blaugrana are currently pursuing plays for English side Manchester City. A defender of renowned prestige and loads of experience under his belt already, it is none other than Spanish defender Aymeric Laporte.
Formerly a French International and currently a player of Spain’s National team, the 28-year-old Citizen has been on the radar of the Catalan giants for quite some time at this point. During the winter transfer market of 2018 for instance, Barcelona were heavily linked to the central defender but ended up opting against it due to the rather hefty asking price at the time.
Fast forward to 2023, and the defender finds himself way down the pecking order under Pep Guardiola. Arguably the fourth-choice center-back at this point in time, his playing time has significantly seen a decline. The Spaniard has only played 15 matches in total for Manchester City this season across all competitions and there seems to be no inclination that those numbers are going to see any spontaneously improved trends over the remaining season with the manager preferring other center-backs over Laporte as it stands.
Moreover, as time has passed it has seen the player’s market value decline in time as well. Now valued at around €38 million by Transfermarkt, the player would potentially cost significantly less to acquire as compared to 2018.
Despite the interest in Aymeric Laporte however, he is far from Barcelona’s only concrete option right now. The prospect of signings defenders Inigo Martinez (Athletic Bilbao) and Evan Ndicka (Eintracht Frankfurt) are also very viable options for the Catalans as they plan for the upcoming summer window, with the former of the two reportedly having negotiations be quite advanced with him on a personal level with the club as well.
