Man United Linked With Move to Trigger £33m Release Clause In Pursuit of Defensive Wonderkid

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Old Trafford side chase La Liga centre-back.

Man United have hit a fine run of form over the past couple of months though Old Trafford boss Louis van Gaal clearly sees room for improvement at the back as he sets his sights on highly-rated Athletic Bilbao centre-back Aymeric Laporte according to the BBC.

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The 20 year old defender has a hefty £33m release clause which van Gaal would have to trigger if he wants the French Under 21 international and given his level of spending over the summer one imagines the Dutch boss has no qualms about forking out such a fee, just so long as Man United’s owners are ready to foot the bill.

Though Man United have gone on a run of seven wins and a draw in their last eight Premier League fixtures it’s perhaps telling that van Gaal’s men have managed just three clean sheets in their past 14 fixtures.

The likes of Chris Smalling, Phil Jones and Jonny Evans have struggled with form and fitness and new signing Marcos Rojo is still finding his feet in the Premier League and van Gaal has at times been forced to throw in youngsters Paddy McNair and Tyler Blackett in at the deep-end so one can see why a defensive addition may be the order of the day next month.

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