City seals Laporte deal as ‘Auba’ holds Arsenal talks
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Manchester City completed the signing of Aymeric Laporte yesterday as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang reportedly arrived at Arsenal’s training ground to finalize his transfer from Borussia Dortmund, as English Premier League clubs scramble to beat today’s deadline.
The EPL leader is reported to have paid Spanish club Athletic Bilbao 57 million pounds (US$80 million) for the defender, taking him past Kevin De Bruyne (55 million pounds) as its record signing.
The 23-year-old is also the second most expensive defender in history behind Virgil Van Dijk, who cost Liverpool 75 million pounds from Southampton earlier this month.
Last week, Alexis Sanchez signed for Manchester United from Arsenal in a swap deal with Henrikh Mkhitaryan and with the clock ticking, it appears Arsene Wenger will land Aubameyang to boost his forward options.
“I am very happy to be here,” Laporte said. “City are a club with a lot of ambition and they are one of the best teams in Europe. I am looking forward to working under Pep Guardiola and trying to help the club to achieve success.”
City boss Guardiola said Laporte was ready to play straight away but may need time to adapt to the EPL. “He’s fit, he’s been playing the last period. Of course he has to adapt because the Premier League is special in many senses.”
Guardiola has now spent more than 200 million pounds simply on reinforcing his defence alongside the acquisitions of Benjamin Mendy (52 million pounds), John Stones (47.5 million pounds) and Kyle Walker (45 million pounds).
A France international at all youth levels, Laporte has been frustrated at continually being overlooked by senior team coach Didier Deschamps.
Bilbao, meanwhile, has signed defender Inigo Martinez from Basque rival Real Sociedad for 32 million euros (US$40 million) on a 5-1/2-year deal, the La Liga club said yesterday
The fee is a record for a Spanish defender and the deal is the most expensive transfer in Bilbao’s history.
Martinez, linked to Barcelona earlier, will replace Laporte and his signing continued Bilbao’s policy of only recruiting players born in the Basque region.
Sky Sports News reported later yesterday that Aubameyang, 28, had arrived in Britain on a private jet before travelling to Arsenal’s training ground near London.
Arsenal is understood to have agreed a fee of around 60 million pounds with the Bundesliga club for the Gabon international but the German club will reportedly only sanction the move if it finds a replacement.
Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud is reportedly a key cog in the transfer — either as a direct replacement for Aubameyang or as part of a three-way deal, with Giroud moving to Chelsea and Michy Batshuayi swapping Stamford Bridge for Dortmund.
Reports in Italy suggest a Chelsea bid for Roma’s former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko has been unsuccessful.
Elsewhere, Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge, 28, left Anfield on a loan deal until the end of the season after slipping down the pecking order under Juergen Klopp.
Barcelona winger Gerard Deulofeu has become Javi Gracia’s first signing as Watford manager after arriving at Vicarage Road on loan until the end of the season.
Millwall re-signed veteran Australia international Tim Cahill, 14 years after he left the Den to join Everton. “It’s hard to put into words (what it feels like to wear a Millwall shirt again) — I’m still taking it in now,” the 38-year-old told Millwall’s website.
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