Chelsea
Man Utd Set To Seal €32m Deal For Chelsea Target, Player Already Preparing For Move
Man Utd are putting the final touches on a €32m deal for Chelsea target Aymeric Laporte and the player is already started preparing for life in England
With the January transfer now open for business, managers are working hard to strengthen their squads ahead of the second half of the season, so we’ll bring you all the latest news and gossip. Today, Man Utd close in on a deal for Chelsea target Aymeric Laporte…
Manchester United are putting the final touches on a potential €32m deal for Chelsea target Aymeric Laporte and the player is already started preparing for life in England, according to reports today.
Laporte has emerged as one of the most highly-rated young defenders in world football since breaking into the Athletic Bilbao first team in 2013 and became a regular in Ernesto Valverde’s starting eleven last season, making 35 La Liga appearances.
The 20-year-old has continued his excellent form for Bilbao this season and his fine displays at the back have attracted interest from a whole host of top clubs with Man Utd and Chelsea among those understood to be keen.
Reports over the weekend claimed that United had stepped up their interest in the centre-back and were deep in negotiations with Bilbao over a potential €32m (£25m) deal.
It appears things have now progressed even further as reports in Spain suggest that Laporte has already began ‘packing his bags’ in preparation for his move to England as the deal is understood to be close to completion with only the finer details left to resolve.
Bilbao are believed to be holding out for a slightly higher fee but with the majority of the deal finalised, the newspaper claims that a deal is expected to be announced shortly.
If this news is accurate, then this will be something of a coup for United as Laporte is expected to develop into one of the very best defenders in Europe over the coming years.
It remains to be seen how Chelsea will react and whether Jose Mourinho may try and make a late hijack attempt, but I’m sure United fans are excited by the prospect of the French youngster joining the club if they can get a deal over the line.
Louis van Gaal has endured a frustrating first six months in charge at Old Trafford as injuries at the back have severally hampered his cause with the likes of Chris Smalling, Marcos Rojo, Phil Jones, Rafael, Luke Shaw and Jonny Evans all spending time on the treatment table.
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Therefore, a new defender is likely to be on the agenda and Laporte is the kind of talent van Gaal could build his new-look defence around for the next 10 years, so I’m sure the 20-time champions will be delighted if they can get this deal agreed.
