Former Manchester City and Athletic Club center back Aymeric Laporte has his eye on Real Madrid amid the club's current injury crisis.
Real Madrid's already depleted backline suffered another huge blow when Éder Militão tore his ACL against Osasuna. The Brazilian joins Dani Carvajal, who is also out for the season with an ACL injury, on the sidelines. David Alaba, meanwhile, is still recovering from the ACL injury he sustained last year. Even Carlo Ancelotti's emergency center backs, Aurélien Tchouaméni and Lucas Vázquez, are injured.
It is no secret the club could be in the market to sign a defender come January or this summer. As rumors continue to swirl about Alphonso Davies and Trent Alexander-Arnold potentially coming to Madrid, Laporte expressed his interest in playing for the defending Spanish and European champions.
“A call from Madrid? Sounds good,” Laporte told El Larguero. “I would listen to the call. Obviously, you don’t look down on teams like Real Madrid.”
JOIN SI SOCCER'S REAL MADRID WHATSAPP COMMUNITY - GET ALL THE LATEST NEWS AND ANALYSIS STRAIGHT TO YOUR PHONE
Laporte left Manchester City in the summer of 2023 to play for Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League. Despite signing a three-year deal, the Spain international is clearly open to returning to Europe.
In his time with the Citizens, Laporte won six Premier League titles, the Champions League, two FA Cups and more. This summer, he played an integral role in helping Spain win Euro 2024.
Al Nassr currently sits third in the 2024–25 Saudi Pro League standings with 22 points through 10 matches. Laporte has made 54 appearances for the side since arriving last summer and already has seven goals to his name.
The 30-year-old's experience would be a welcomed addition to Ancelotti's injury-ridden squad, especially with Real Madrid Castilla's Raúl Asencio next in line to start alongside Antonio Rüdiger. However, Real Madrid has yet to make any definitive statements or decisions regarding the upcoming transfer market.
READ THE LATEST REAL MADRID NEWS, PREVIEWS, PREDICTIONS, TRANSFER RUMORS AND MORE
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Real Madrid Transfer News: Ex-Manchester City Defender Interested in Move.
