Manchester United target Aymeric Laporte will join Barcelona next summer, according to reports.
Daily Mirror claims the Atheltic Bilbao defender is certain to join the Blaugrana next summer in a deal worth £35m.
It is indeed a big blow for Manchester United, who were tracking the French defender as the club’s potential centre-back for the future for quite a long time.
The 21-year-old defender is considered as one of the best young prospects in Europe, and he will certainly add a lot of quality to the Barcelona side.
Barcelona will be able to sign players again in the January transfer window, when their transfer ban gets lifted, but the Catalan giants are targeting next summer to sign Laporte.
Well, Manchester United’s loss could be Chelsea’s gain – Laporte’s transfer to Barcelona could open the door for Chelsea to sign their defensive target next summer. How? Let me explain.
According to reports, Barcelona have lined up PSG defender Marquinhos as a potential defensive target but they consider Chelsea as their major threat in getting the player’s signature.
Chelsea wanted to sign Everton defender John Stones in the summer, but the Toffees were unwilling to part ways with their top talent at any price. As a result the Blues were forced to look for options elsewhere.
According to reports from France, Chelsea had a €45m bid for Marquinhos rejected in the summer, but the Blues are likely to try their luck again in the January transfer window.
Marquinhos has struggled to get regular games at PSG and could be looking for a move in the summer. Now, if Barcelona sign Laporte next summer, it means they would have dropped their interest in Marquinhos, which will leave the door open for Chelsea to sign the highly rated Brazilian defender.
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