Man City confirm Aymeric Laporte signature

Manchester City have completed the signing of French defender Aymeric Laporte from Athletic Bilbao, the Premier League club have announced.

The 23-year-old has signed a contract with City until 2023 and arrives for a club-record fee, believed to be around £57million.

He is the sixth arrival at the Etihad Stadium this season, and he will wear the number 14 shirt.

Laporte arrived in Manchester for a medical on Monday and later issued a farewell message to his Athletic team-mates on social media, signalling his move to City was close.

The Spanish club later revealed the centre-back was free to leave after his release clause was paid in full, with City confirming the deal on Tuesday afternoon.

“I am very happy to be here,” Laporte told mancity.com.

“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.”

Laporte began his senior career with Bilbao in 2012 and went on to make 222 appearances for the LaLiga outfit, scoring ten goals.

The Frenchman was named in LaLiga’s 2013/14 Team of the Year and in the 2015/16 campaign he helped Bilbao lift the Spanish Super Cup – their first piece of major silverware for 31 years.

On the international stage, he has represented France at youth level but is yet to play for the senior team.

Man City’s director of football Txiki Begiristain said: “We are delighted to have signed Aymeric.

“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.”