Saga over: Athletic Club confirm Aymeric Laporte return | OneFootball

After weeks of negotiations, Athletic Club have finally completed the signing of Aymeric Laporte from Al-Nassr.

Laporte was set for a return to Europe during the summer transfer window, and his first choice was San Mames. Personal terms were struck early on, but a deal was delayed due to him and Al-Nassr being unable to finalise the termination of his contract – and when that was done, it came too late for him to join Los Leones.

However, Athletic argued their case to FIFA, and it proved to be successful. And on Thursday evening, the club confirmed that Laporte had made his return to Bilbao, five years after he left for Manchester City.

“The international centre-back returns to Bilbao, his home, where he trained as a player from the age of 15 and played 222 games as a lion between 2012 and 2018. Aymeric Laporte returns home. The international centre-back signs for three seasons, until June 30, 2028, from Al-Nassr.The 31-year-old player thus returns to Lezama, where he trained as a player from the age of 15. He is once again under the baton of Ernesto Valverde, who has already coached him for four of the six seasons in which he played in the first team.

“Laporte said goodbye in 2018 with a ‘See you soon’ and now he prioritises the Athletic Club project and returns to the Basque Country and Bilbao, his home.”

Laporte return comes at an ideal time for Athletic

The news that FIFA have approved Laporte’s return could not be better news for Athletic, who are desperately struggling for depth in the centre-back department. Yeray Alvarez had a 10-month suspension confirmed this week, while Unai Egiluz will be out for a similar period after tearing his ACL in August. This left Dani Vivian and Aitor Paredes as the only senior options, but they have now been added to.