Aymeric Laporte

[shak]

Please be true.

 

[City_Sean]

Laporte certainly makes more sense than Evans. He's younger and can be moulded into a much better player. I've just got the feeling it's bollocks.

 

[Idontpullout]

Dont care that he changed his mind a couple of seasons ago. Delph did the same thing and came around.
Laporte stayed loyal to his club so I can respect that. Not like an isco type of rejection

 

[twosips]

Think it would depend on his reasons, if he turned us down and gone elsewhere then I could see Pep being annoyed. If it was out of loyalty to Bilbao for helping through is injury or just didn't feel ready to leave Spain I think Pep would respect that.

Exactly. It was out of loyalty to Bilbao, so it's hardly a dishonourable thing. Pep surely can't dislike a player for that. He'd be a hypocrite otherwise, given how long he spent at Barca as a player and a coach.

 

[Manc in London]

How is it left field? Every dog in the street knows that we're looking for a centre half and that we were close to signing him 18 months ago.

Because he hasn't been linked to us since.

Is 18 months long enough to be left field or does it have to be more than 18 months?

 

[lee_wsm]

No strong links yet seems like journo desperation 2+2=47850

 

[rushts]

Ssshhh keep the noise down.. or them fuckers across the way will want him...

 

[blueparrot]

No strong links yet seems like journo desperation 2+2=47850

Just like Bernardo Silva.

 

[argyle]

Would be great but probably bollocks.

 

[maurizio]

Gets us all optimistic and then it's JFE....

 

[aguero93:20]

Because he hasn't been linked to us since.

Is 18 months long enough to be left field or does it have to be more than 18 months?

He was linked to us by Spanish and British media in both transfer windows between then and now. It's an easy credible link for a journalist to make a story out of on a slow news day.

Also, people are attaching credence to it because it's from a journalist attached to the same station as the teamsheet leaker. Even if it was the leaker himself (which it isn't), he was hardly getting his info from Soriano, Txiki or Guardiola.

As I said, I hope I'm wrong, but this seems like bollocks.

 

[KDB14]

A couple of things make me think (hope) this might be true.

• Pretty sure the journos reporting this are the ones who broke the Nolito story, which also came completely out of left field.
• Laporte spoke in the public about City out of the blue the other day ().

Really hope we get him as he'd be perfect for us.

 

[Andrew___K]

He was linked to us by Spanish and British media in both transfer windows between then and now. It's an easy credible link for a journalist to make a story out of on a slow news day.

Also, people are attaching credence to it because it's from a journalist attached to the same station as the teamsheet leaker. Even if it was the leaker himself (which it isn't), he was hardly getting his info from Soriano, Txiki or Guardiola.

As I said, I hope I'm wrong, but this seems like bollocks.

Laporte gives interview mentioning City -> Journos fabricate 'news'. Simple as that.

 

[razman]

i haven't followed him , since the move fell thru...came thru these tweets....would have ignored it , but we would be paying 65m Euros. not cheap. Thoughts ?

 

[aguero93:20]

Laporte gives interview mentioning City -> Journos fabricate 'news'. Simple as that.

Pretty much imo. No reports of us scouting him either and they usually spin a story out of that. Ffs the media ran stories about us scouting several Napoli players with 'January moves almost agreed', conveniently ignoring the possibility that our scouts were far more likely at their games as we had a Champions League double header coming up against them at the time.

Anyone doesn't believe that there'll be stories about us scouting at least one Basel player over the next 6 weeks.

 

[domalino]

Think it would depend on his reasons, if he turned us down and gone elsewhere then I could see Pep being annoyed. If it was out of loyalty to Bilbao for helping through is injury or just didn't feel ready to leave Spain I think Pep would respect that.

Dont care that he changed his mind a couple of seasons ago. Delph did the same thing and came around.
Laporte stayed loyal to his club so I can respect that. Not like an isco type of rejection

Exactly. It was out of loyalty to Bilbao, so it's hardly a dishonourable thing. Pep surely can't dislike a player for that. He'd be a hypocrite otherwise, given how long he spent at Barca as a player and a coach.

If you believe Sam Lee, the way it happened was pretty pathetic to be honest, and not really anything to do with loyalty, just backing out of a deal he'd agreed to for weeks.

Having agreed on a deal worth around £38 million with Athletic and lined up personal terms with Laporte, City director of football Txiki Begiristain instructed the club's legal department to draw up the contracts. As of Friday June 11, the deal was done.

But as preparations were being made back in Manchester to confirm the France international as City's second signing of the summer, Laporte delivered the shock news to Begiristain.

During that weekend he had not only decided that he wanted to stay at Athletic, but that he was going to extend his contract as well - with a higer buy-out clause.

​

That backing out at the last minute really fucked our transfer plans last year, we'd have spent months lining him up, chatting to his agent, and then at the last minute he gets cold feet and leaves us a month to try and find someone else. So I wouldn't be at all surprised if the club and/or Pep decided never to go near him again.

If we do go back for him, I won't be upset by any means, but I'd imagine it has a lot to do with the fact he's lucky enough to be part of a very small demographic of young left footed centre backs.

 

[Gabriel]

i haven't followed him , since the move fell thru...came thru these tweets....would have ignored it , but we would be paying 65m Euros. not cheap. Thoughts ?

Similar reservations could have been levelled at John Stones in the season before we signed him. If the management considers him as capable of adapting and playing, indeed thriving, in our system, then that amount of money will not appear steep come the summer.

 

[domalino]

i haven't followed him , since the move fell thru...came thru these tweets....would have ignored it , but we would be paying 65m Euros. not cheap. Thoughts ?

Yeray has been amazing at times, but has had cancer twice, only coming back a couple of months ago from the second. As brutal as it sounds, I imagine that kind of thing will put off any big club thinking of spending a lot of money on him at least until he's been healthy for a couple of years.

 

[Akiva]

Unfair comparison, what Laporte can bring to the table is ultimate unique in the same way as Stones (or say, Bonucci) can. He's not a pure CB, but a ball-playing/playmaking CB who isn't the best defensively but sacrifices that nous for control, possession and passing ability.

I'd argue his development has been stunted by the departure of Valverde and Ziganda's more...pragmatic approach to the game. It doesn't suit him and he needs a Pep or system akin to fully realize his potential.

One thing I will say is that Sam Lee's analysis has ultimately been proven right as we saw with Sanchez. Clearly the club are not in the habit of giving second chances, hand waving away the player with a "your loss" and moving on (and succeeding) regardless.

 

[twosips]

If you believe Sam Lee, the way it happened was pretty pathetic to be honest, and not really anything to do with loyalty, just backing out of a deal he'd agreed to for weeks.

Having agreed on a deal worth around £38 million with Athletic and lined up personal terms with Laporte, City director of football Txiki Begiristain instructed the club's legal department to draw up the contracts. As of Friday June 11, the deal was done.

But as preparations were being made back in Manchester to confirm the France international as City's second signing of the summer, Laporte delivered the shock news to Begiristain.

During that weekend he had not only decided that he wanted to stay at Athletic, but that he was going to extend his contract as well - with a higer buy-out clause.

​

That backing out at the last minute really fucked our transfer plans last year, we'd have spent months lining him up, chatting to his agent, and then at the last minute he gets cold feet and leaves us a month to try and find someone else. So I wouldn't be at all surprised if the club and/or Pep decided never to go near him again.

If we do go back for him, I won't be upset by any means, but I'd imagine it has a lot to do with the fact he's lucky enough to be part of a very small demographic of young left footed centre backs.

I don't think there's anything wrong with having cold feet and 'only' leaving a huge club like City a month tbh - that's not a concern of Laporte's at all. He didn't owe them anything and it's hardly last minute. Even if it was, he's very much entitled to do that. Shit happens. He didn't run off for more money elsewhere, so im not sure what is pathetic about it? He literally did decide to stay loyal to his current club and a change of heart is totally normal. That Sam Lee article basically sounds like Txiki felt a bit annoyed cos he was a little entitled if I'm being honest.