Manchester United has lined up Athletic Bilbao defender Aymeric Laporte as one of their top summer targets.
Manager Louis van Gaal has identified the 20-year-old defender as one of two players that he wants to sign for that position this summer and according to reports in Spain will contact both Bilbao and the player’s agent Jorge Mendes at the end of the season.
Bilbao has a reputation of being a tough club to deal with as United found out last summer when trying to sign Ander Herrera. The Basque club also has a policy of only signing players from the Basque region of Spain and France which also makes it difficult to find replacements for players they sell to other club.
Also being in a strong financial position Bilbao will not listen to any offers below Laporte’s £30 million buyout clause.
