Well, one sound bite seems to have cleared up a whole load of hype from the last couple of weeks.
One of the players that Manchester United were said to be hot on the trail of was La Liga star Aymeric Laporte. The Frenchman, who currently plays for Athletic Bilbao, is just 20 years of age but has been in imperious form over the last 18 months, prompting reported interest from some of the big boys.
But, when asked in FourFourTwo magazine if he wanted to play in England one day he said:
Not really, not at the moment, anyway. I’m feeling very good at Athletic and want to keep developing as best I can here, because I can feel myself improving every day.
It’s a real shame that the player seems uninterested in England right now. Because Manchester United have been on the look out for a ball playing centre back since Rio Ferdinand left the club. The club was lucky enough to get Rio at 23 and the idea of buying a player of similar age and quality would be exciting indeed.
Laporte is bullishly strong for a 20 year old but also has lovely touch and excellent reading of the game. He’s basically as safe as houses despite his tender age. He’s surely destined for superstardom. But perhaps not at Manchester United.
Let’s see him in action
