Aymeric Laporte to Athletic Club collapsing – Spain defender in talks over alternative move | OneFootball

Athletic Club look all set to go into September without defender Aymeric Laporte, despite negotiations taking place over months during the summer. The 31-year-old is keen to leave Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, but Los Leones and Al-Nassr could not reach an agreement before the Spanish transfer deadline.

Los Leones claim that they did everything required of them in a timely fashion, and that the fault lay with Al-Nassr, as to why it was not registered on the FIFA transfer system two Mondays ago. FIFA ruled that the deal had not been completed in time, and Athletic have appealed the case, with a FIFA decision expected imminently.

Besiktas in talks with Al-Nassr over Laporte move

While the FIFA ruling will be definitive, another negative omen is that Laporte is in talks to move to another club. As per Diario AS, Besiktas presented an offer to Al-Nassr on Wednesday morning. The Turkish giants are offering to pay half of his €26m wages this season, and would then have a €15m buy option next summer on the loan deal. Their information is that Al-Nassr are open to the deal. Laporte has fallen out of favour, and after the arrival of Inigo Martinez, another left-sided central defender, is now surplus to requirements.

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Lezama to come into play again

It leaves Ernesto Valverde massaging his temples and perhaps lamenting his luck. This week Yeray Alvarez’s suspension was confirmed, meaning he will be with just two senior defenders until the final months of the season.

Valverde can either convert one of his other defenders or midfielders to central defence, or he could turn to his options in the academy. Jon de Luis and Aimar Dunabeitia are the current starting pair for Bilbao Athletic, and the most likely to provide relief for Dani Vivian and Aitor Paredes.