There has been a conflicting update on Tottenham’s hunt to sign a Manchester City star, with the player ‘likely’ to gain a transfer this summer but serious questions being raised about whether he would move to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Several players could leave City at the end of the season. Midfielder Ilkay Gundogan is in the final six months of his contract and is considering whether to depart on a free transfer. Barcelona are ready and waiting to snap him up, should he opt against signing a new City deal.
Joao Cancelo is also hoping to engineer a permanent move away from City after spending the second half of the campaign on loan at Bayern Munich. City are happy to let him go, but Bayern are not planning to match his full €70million (£61.5m) valuation.
Another player who might follow Gundogan and Cancelo out of City is centre-half Aymeric Laporte. He missed the start of the season after having to undergo surgery on a knee issue. However, since returning to full fitness Laporte has struggled to get in the team on a regular basis. Pep Guardiola can use the likes of Ruben Dias, Manuel Akanji, Nathan Ake and John Stones in central defence instead.
Laporte is getting fed up of warming the bench so often and looks set to push for a transfer in the summer.
Barcelona is one potential destination, with Xavi plotting a double swoop for Laporte and Gundogan. But according to Football Transfers, Tottenham have made an enquiry about the defender’s services.
Transfer reporter Dean Jones has provided an update on Laporte’s situation during an interview with GiveMeSport. He believes it is ‘likely’ the Spain international will leave the Etihad, although he does not think Spurs will be able to convince him to join them.
“We’ve reported before that Laporte is likely to be one of the exits if they’re going to happen. I would question whether he would go to Tottenham,” Jones declared.
Tottenham face rejection despite Man City player wanting move
“I’m not sure that that’s the sort of move Laporte has on his agenda if he’s going to actually look to leave Manchester City.
“From everything I’ve heard, he would be looking to move abroad and wouldn’t actually be looking to stay in the Premier League. So I’m not so sure about Tottenham as a landing spot.”
It seems Laporte wants to try something new when leaving City. He has only played in Spain and England at senior level in his career, so perhaps he might head to Ligue 1 next. Paris Saint-Germain would likely be the only French team who would be able to afford the transfer fee or his wages.
Another reason Laporte will probably reject Spurs is down to the offer of trophies. At City, he has regularly tasted silverware, having won trophies such as the Premier League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup.
But if he went to Spurs, Laporte would struggle to add to his winners’ medals. The north London side have not won anything since 2008, despite having top-class players such as Harry Kane and Son Heung-min in their squad.
If Laporte went to PSG or Barca instead, he would have a much better chance at lifting league titles and going far in European competitions.
