Manchester City and Al-Nassr agree fee for Aymeric Laporte

Manchester City defender Aymeric Laporte could be the latest name to make the move out to the Middle East with Al-Nassr. In a fairly rare move for a defender, Cristiano Ronaldo’s club is looking to get back to the top of the Saudi Pro League. it sees the 29-year-old Laporte as an option to shore up the defense.

Saudi transfers for defenders have been few and far between. Chelsea’s Kalidou Koulibaly is the biggest name to transfer as a defender. Then, Alex Telles from Manchester United also joined. Moreover, Telles went to Al-Nassr, which is submitting this bid for Aymeric Laporte. According to the Manchester Evening News, Manchester City is accepting $38 million for the transfer of the defender.

Laporte is the third player to leave Manchester City this summer. Riyad Mahrez also made the move out to Saudi Arabia, as he joined Al-Ahli for around $40 million. Ilkay Gundogan joined Barcelona on a free transfer in City’s other highlight departure of the summer.

The potential sale of Laporte helps City recoup some of the money it already spent on another defender. City broke the record for a defender in its acquisition of Josko Gvardiol from RB Leipzig. With the central defender from Croatia coming in, Laporte was excess to requirements in Pep Guardiola’s ranks. The Spanish center-back only made a substitute appearance in the side’s opening-day win at Burnley this past Friday.

Al-Nassr needs defenders like Aymeric Laporte to keep up

Scoring should not be a problem in the upcoming campaign for the Saudi Pro League. Al-Nassr has Cristiano Ronaldo and Sadio Mane, both of whom have goals in this young season. However, Sadio Mane’s goal against Al-Ettifaq on matchday one was not enough, as Al-Nassr lost, 2-1. Two early second-half goals exposed Al-Nassr’s defensive weakness.

Bringing in a treble-winning defender like Aymeric Laporte is a step in the right direction to shore up those inefficiencies in defense. Laporte has been open to leaving this summer as he lost his place in the Manchester City squad. Ruben Dias is a bonafide starter, and Manuel Akanji had a sensational debut season for Manchester City this past campaign. A lucrative move to Saudi Arabia may be early in the 29-year-old’s career, but it may be the move for Laporte.

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