City Seal £57m Deal Laporte

Manchester City have broken their club transfer record by splashing out £57million on Athletic Bilbao centre back Aymeric Laporte.

Laporte, 23, has signed a five-and-a-half year deal to finalise his move to England.

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The Premier League leaders triggered his release clause last week which led to Athletic Bilbao pulling Laporte out of their squad to face Eibar on Friday.

Laporte, who will wear the No 14 shirt, said on his move: 'I am very happy to be here.

'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.

'It means a lot that the Club have shown faith in me and I am excited to get started.'

Txiki Begiristain, City’s Director of Football, added: 'We are delighted to have signed Aymeric.

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'We have assessed defensive options and he is a player we have admired for a long time.

'With his quality and ability to play out from the back, we feel Aymeric will fit in perfectly with Pep Guardiola’s playing style.'

Pep Guardiola was keen on adding another centre back to his ranks and Laporte will now compete with Vincent Kompany, John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi.