Aymeric Laporte has recalled his first meeting with Pep Guardiola in which the Manchester City boss had him in training just hours after landing in England.
Laporte joined City in January 2018, putting pen to paper on a five-and-a-year contract at the Etihad. Guardiola pushed for his side to add to their defensive ranks mid-season after injury concerns over Vincent Kompany and Eliaquim Mangala.
And the Blues boss seemingly wasted no time in introducing the former Athletic Bilbao man to his new teammates, throwing him into training on the day of his arrival before handing him a debut in a 3-0 Premier League win at home to West Bromwich Albion.
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"I’ve just remembered a story from the first day I arrived here at City," Laporte told in-house media when asked about Guardiola. "I signed my contract in the afternoon at around 2pm. Pep came into the room at 3pm, so we started to chat and he said to me, ‘Come to my office so we can talk’.
"He welcomed me to the club, shook my hand and then he said, ‘Right, at 4.30 today we’re going to train’.
"I’d just come from a flight three hours ago! I hadn’t trained or played for two weeks. So he said, ‘Yes we’re going to train’, but I hadn’t even brought my boots! Some of the guys from player care went out to look for some boots in a shop for me and then I went out to train in some boots that weren’t mine.
"After training he said to me, ‘Are you happy to play tomorrow?’ So I said, ‘Well, I didn’t feel very prepared but I'm ready for what's to come’.
"And just a day after I arrived was my first game, we won 3-0 and it was a really special experience because I played quite well too.”
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