Whether or not Manchester City can overhaul Arsenal and land another Premier League title this season, it would be a huge surprise if the club didn’t try and improve their squad in the summer, meaning that some players will be surplus to requirements.
Such are the demands at the very top clubs, that if you’re not doing the business week in and week out, the chances are you’re going to be sidelined.
That appears to be the case for Aymeric Laporte who has fallen down the pecking order at the club. Per WhoScored, he’s played on just 13 occasions in all competitions (six in the Premier League) this season.
At just 28 years of age, supposedly around a footballer’s ‘peak’ years, if Laporte can’t force himself back into the starting line up now, he’s better off looking elsewhere.
The decision may well be taken out of his hands in any event, as Football Insider note that City are willing to take a £17.2m loss on the player in order to move him on.
The outlet report a potential sale price of £40m with sources suggesting that Paris Saint-Germain are rumoured to be interested. That could be significant as a separate report from Football Insider notes that City do not want to strengthen their Premier League rivals.
With that being the case, it would seem that Laporte’s only option is to see what’s available on the continent and take things from there.
At £40m any club would be getting a bargain, and it would surely be a foregone conclusion that Pep Guardiola will want to reinvest any funds into the playing side.