Manchester City might be leading the EPL by 12 points as well as in the race in all four competitions which makes it difficult to decipher why they are linked with Atletico Bilbao's central defender Aymeric Laporte .
A close look at City's defense in their last 12 league games explains it all. City have conceded 11 goals in the last 12 League games which is in contrast with their first 12 league games (seven). The Frenchman has been Pep Guardiola's first choice center-back ever since his appointment in the summer of 2016, only for the centre-back to extend his contract with the Spanish side which made his signing more difficult. Moving on from the failed bid to sign him, City signed John Stones from Everton for £48m to plug the gap in their defence. Having been a near disaster last season, Stones has improved this season partnering Nicolas Otamendi as City became more defensively organised and difficult to beat.
With only four recognised centre-backs , Guardiola appears ready to meet Laporte's exit clause (£56m) , so how did it get to that ? Out of the four recognised City central defenders, only Otamendi can be relied on as Vincent Kompany has struggled with fitness for three seasons now , managing to play only nine league games . Stones on his own appears to be rusty and lacking confidence as he was at fault for both goals against Bristol City in the Carabao Cup and Liverpool in the league having suffered an injury in November needing six weeks recovery time which made Guardiola recall Eloaquim Mangala (made 10 league appearances). To add to that, left full backs Fabian Delph and Mendy are both out for extended periods which makes the signing of a left footed defender a near necessity. With more than 14 league games to go as well as the Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup final, City need to strengthen their backline in order to challenge in all competitions rather than putting round pegs in square holes.
At 23, Laporte has an extensive experience playing at the top level having played over 161 league games for Athletic Bilbao since his debut in 2012. Such as been his consistency that he has been linked with Barcelona and Manchester United almost every transfer window. Ball playing, strong in the air as well as ability to read the game , the Frenchman is the best at his age in the position as he has grown from strength to strength each passing day. With the transfer market getting more and more inflated and Laporte getting better and better as well as becoming more appealing to many clubs, seizing the opportunity to sign him now will be the right thing for City to do rather than wait and then lose him like they lost both Dani Alves and Alexis Sanchez. £56m might be much but with the capture of a player of such quality and one that will play on for years, it might end up a bargain.
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