Manchester City announce £57m record signing of Aymeric Laporte

Manchester City have completed the club record signing of Aymeric Laporte from Athletic Club.

Laporte has signed a five-year contract at the Etihad after City agreed to meet his £57m release clause on Monday.

The 23-year-old becomes the most-expensive player in the club’s history, surpassing Kevin De Bruyne, who cost £55m in 2015.

Laporte told the club’s official website: “I am very happy to be here. City are a Club with a lot of ambition and they are one of the good teams in Europe.

“I am attractive advanced to alive beneath Pep Guardiola and aggravating to advice the Club to accomplish success. It agency a lot that the Club accept apparent acceptance in me and I am aflame to get started.”

City accept lacked abyss in the centre of defence all season, with aloof Nicolas Otamendi and John Stones consistently fit and trusted by Pep Guardiola.

Vincent Kompany’s abiding abrasion problems accept prevented him from arena added regularly, while doubts abide over the adeptness of Eliaquim Mangala.

Laporte, who is yet to be capped by France at all-embracing level, ahead alone the adventitious to assignment with Guardiola at City in the summer of 2016, electing to assurance a new arrangement at Athletic.

The defender's accommodation balked City at the time but a year-and-a-half later, they accept renewed their absorption in Laporte and begin him added accommodating to leave Bilbao.

Laporte's accession brings City's spending on defenders back the end of aftermost division arctic of £220m, afterward the arrivals of Benjamin Mendy, Kyle Walker, Danilo and goalkeeper Ederson in the summer.