Aymeric Laporte | Signed new 5 year deal with Athletic

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ottosec said:
Anybody following Bilbao this year? How is he doing?
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Not as good as he was last season. The whole team is struggling though. He hasn't been as consistent as he was last season and had some pretty bad games. As @Sly pointed out he wasn't good in the Champions League, but it has to be said that the whole team are not playing anywhere close to what they are capable of in that competition in particular. With that being said, he's the signing which would excite me the most and he's also the player I want to sign for us more than anyone else.
 
bucky said:
Not as good as he was last season. The whole team is struggling though. He hasn't been as consistent as he was last season and had some pretty bad games. As @Sly pointed out he wasn't good in the Champions League, but it has to be said that the whole team are not playing anywhere close to what they are capable of in that competition in particular. With that being said, he's the signing which would excite me the most and he's also the player I want to sign for us more than anyone else.
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I've seen some decent games from him this year but i agree with you, he isn't in the same level as last season. I didn't watch the other Bilbao games in the Champions League but in the games against Porto, the whole team was bad tbf and not just Laporte. He was bullied by Jackson Martinez. He looked a bit inexperienced which is natural in someone his age but the potencial is there.
 
Petter Veland (who is supposedly good with La Liga stuff) said that there wouldn't be enough time for a transfer to be done in Jan. They don't let players go this month and could probably drag it out until the window ended.
 
I like Laporte, but since godin's release Clause is almost the same shouldn't we be going for him instead?
We need experience as well as skill in our back line at the moment.
 
ravi2 said:
I like Laporte, but since godin's release Clause is almost the same shouldn't we be going for him instead?
We need experience as well as skill in our back line at the moment.
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2 new CBs would not be a bad idea i supposed, given that our current defenders are so injury prone, we got doubts whether jones and smalling are ever going to be the players we were expecting for when fergei first signed them, and of course evans is getting worse and worse by the day.

i prefer one experience world class CB and a young exciting prospect who could be our key player for the next decade or so.

30 million is nothing in the transfer market these days. if 60 million can get us godin and laporte (or someone in their caliber) then that would be great.
 
Mersault said:
One of the things Van Gaal said at the start of the window, he could sign someone "like that", i.e. in matter of moments. And he gave a little smirk. There's plenty of time Pexbo, we could even sign two players. I'm going to stick to two all in all (including Valdes)
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I take it you're not familiar with Bilbao.
 
Pexbo said:
I take it you're not familiar with Bilbao.
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Well its jot like they're a huge problem to deal with, they have one set price and that's the only option you have. Makes it pretty simple actually. If we want to pay the clause, then its no problem, if we don't, then they won't sell him, simple as. Nothing really to do with them being a pain in the arse.
 
bosnian_red said:
Well its jot like they're a huge problem to deal with, they have one set price and that's the only option you have. Makes it pretty simple actually. If we want to pay the clause, then its no problem, if we don't, then they won't sell him, simple as. Nothing really to do with them being a pain in the arse.
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Yeah that's not how they work at all.

Look at the Javi Martinez and Herrera transfers. It doesn't matter if you match the buyout clause if they don't want to sell they turn it down (refuse to accept the money and release the players registration). Then you have to go to the Spanish FA and give them the money to buy out his contract, then they go to Bilbao and tell them the player has to be released, then Bilbao dispute it and claim that the money is not enough as the buying club has to pick up the tax bill. All the while they tie it up with litigation going back and forth between them, the FA and the buying club. Then they make things complicated with the player as it's actually the player who has to buy out his own contract, so the buying club has to work out a way of getting the money to the player in order for the player to buy out his contract without facing a tax bill for receiving such a huge sum of money.

They can make it incredibly complicated if they want to (which they usually do as they can only sign basque players so they don't like to let their best go as they are not easy to replace nor expensive) so it's highly unlikely that United can sign him quickly, especially not "in 24 hours" like LVG said of other transfers. With 3 days left it's as good as certain that there isn't enough time to deal with Bilbao.
 
Pexbo said:
Yeah that's not how they work at all.

Look at the Javi Martinez and Herrera transfers. It doesn't matter if you match the buyout clause if they don't want to sell they turn it down (refuse to accept the money and release the players registration). Then you have to go to the Spanish FA and give them the money to buy out his contract, then they go to Bilbao and tell them the player has to be released, then Bilbao dispute it and claim that the money is not enough as the buying club has to pick up the tax bill. All the while they tie it up with litigation going back and forth between them, the FA and the buying club. Then they make things complicated with the player as it's actually the player who has to buy out his own contract, so the buying club has to work out a way of getting the money to the player in order for the player to buy out his contract without facing a tax bill for receiving such a huge sum of money.

They can make it incredibly complicated if they want to (which they usually do as they can only sign basque players so they don't like to let their best go as they are not easy to replace nor expensive) so it's highly unlikely that United can sign him quickly, especially not "in 24 hours" like LVG said of other transfers. With 3 days left it's as good as certain that there isn't enough time to deal with Bilbao.
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I think you are over complicating the situation, Pexbo. Not saying that what you have said is false, but considering we are now familiar on dealing with Bilbao, there really should be no complications on paying a buyout clause. We got the money to Herrera, so I'd assume we'd use the same method in getting the money to Laporte so he can buy out his contract.
 
Summit said:
I think you are over complicating the situation, Pexbo. Not saying that what you have said is false, but considering we are now familiar on dealing with Bilbao, there really should be no complications on paying a buyout clause. We got the money to Herrera, so I'd assume we'd use the same method in getting the money to Laporte so he can buy out his contract.
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I'm really not, it's how they operate. They make you dance their dance in an act of bravado that shows who is boss. The worst thing you can do is to try and go around them and exclude them from the process as they just dig their heels in further. There's absolutely no way you could activate the release clause and get everything wrapped up in 3 days, they just wouldn't allow it if they didn't want to lose him.
 
Pexbo said:
I'm really not, it's how they operate. They make you dance their dance in an act of bravado that shows who is boss. The worst thing you can do is to try and go around them and exclude them from the process as they just dig their heels in further. There's absolutely no way you could activate the release clause and get everything wrapped up in 3 days, they just wouldn't allow it if they didn't want to lose him.
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I disagree, Pexbo. Herrera's trasfer moved very fast once he bought himself out his clause.
 
Summit said:
I disagree, Pexbo. Herrera's trasfer moved very fast once he bought himself out his clause.
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Everything you need to know about why United’s Herrera deal is complicated



When Bayern Munich signed Javi Martinez from Athletic Bilbao in the summer of 2012, it brought to an end one of the most complicated transfers in recent history. In the words of Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummennigge at the time, Athletic 'refused to cooperate from the very first day.'

The German club found that utilising a Spanish player's buyout clause was fiendishly complicated and presented the club and the player with complex tax issues. The Basques refused to accept a fee equal to his buyout (there is no obligation to sell) and insisted that the player himself deposited the money, a unilateral act which in theory takes Bilbao out of the loop.


This had implications for the player, invoking a potential income tax liability, a far greater sum than the VAT that would have been payable had Bilbao accepted the buyout offer from the club. In the end, Martinez accepted a reduction in salary to cover much of that tax but even after the transfer was completed matters were not fully resolved.

A year later, FIFA ordered that Bayern should pay €6m to his former club Osasuna, the club where he was trained. In addition, Bilbao had threatened to sue the German club for the way in which the transfer was handled and the fact that Bayern had conducted a medical and negotiations with the player without authorisation. In summary, it was a mess but Bayern got their man.

Athletic Bilbao are so hostile for a very good reason. With their Basque only recruitment policy and healthy business model, there are no pressures to sell and recruitment of replacement players of a similar quality to one of their stars is almost impossible.

In addition, the club are extremely conscious of their need to be seen to be doing everything within their power to prevent those players leaving, as Fernando Llorente found to his cost after he tried to force a move six months before the expiry of his contract. His club dug their heals in and the Spanish international striker spent the remainder of the season being vilified by the club's fans for going public with his desire to leave.


The transfer of Ander Herrera to Manchester United is following a similar pattern. Here is what we know.

The story broke in the Spanish press this week that Herrera was set to pay his buyout clause and make the move. It is interesting that it was reported spontaneously first in Spain, suggesting that Bilbao had leaked the information.

On Wednesday, Herrera, his agent and friends went to United's training ground at Carrington for talks and to be shown around.

On Thursday, Bilbao released a statement saying that they had rejected an offer of €36m (the amount stipulated in the player's buyout clause). Interestingly they suggested that the bid had been "this week" as opposed to today. This contradictory information has caused confusion and concern that the deal may be falling through. Such worries are understandable after United's disastrous summer in 2013 and the late, botched attempt to buy Herrera that August.

However, reports from Spain have attempted to clarify the situation. It is thought that United did indeed make a €36m offer, probably early in the week and why not? What is there to lose? Approaching things this way also sends a message to Bilbao that United would rather do things in an open and gentlemanly way. The Basques, as they invariably do, rejected it.

This, and their announcement that the offer had been rejected, allows them to show that they are fighting to retain the player and puts the onus upon Herrera to drive the deal.

It is therefore up to the player to pay the money required to free himself from his contract. Obviously this money will or has come from United. Reports contradict themselves as to whether this has already happened. In doing so, Herrera will open himself up to a potential income tax liability but it has been suggested that he has agreed to forgo a portion of his wages to cover much of that obligation.

Some papers claim that the money has been deposited (and his visit to Manchester would suggest that to be the case) but that there are 'technical problems' preventing the Spanish federation from completing the transfer of his registration.

Early reports suggested that this was related to the obligation that the club at which he trained, Osasuna, receive a portion of any transfer fee. Bilbao will expect United to pay this as Bayern ultimately had to with Martinez.

However, Inigo Markinez, the Cadena Ser reporter who broke the original story, is now suggesting that the hold up is a legal technicality which should be resolved in due course.

What is certain is that if United Vice President Ed Woodward gets this incredibly complex deal over the line, he will deserve a lot of credit and much of the damage done to his reputation last summer will be repaired. If he fails, it would be hard to recover from another public humiliation.

For Bilbao, the priority is and has been to demonstrate that they were ultimately helpless as Herrera drives a transfer which they cannot not prevent but are making every effort possible to scupper. Having driven the press narrative from the moment the story broke, image is everything for Bilbao.

We may not like it and Woodward and Herrera may be pulling their hair out, but Athletic are doing what's best for their club. This is hard to criticise. We would want our own club to do the same.

Herrera, ostracised for a period after his botched transfer last summer, has almost certainly burnt his bridges in Spain now. Ultimately, it is now in the interests of all parties to bring this to a conclusion and as fans we hope that will be as swift as possible.
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Put simply it's like I said. Bravado. They know that they can't hold on to their player and that the player will inevitably leave but they also don't want to be seen to lose their players without a fight. They want it to be made clear that it's down to the player and that is why a quick transfer is impossible. There's no way they're going to oblidge so easily and help push a transfer through that neither they nor their fans want to happen.


3 days? Not a chance, let alone 24 hours.
 
Pexbo said:
Put simply it's like I said. Bravado. They know that they can't hold on to their player and that the player will inevitably leave but they also don't want to be seen to lose their players without a fight. They want it to be made clear that it's down to the player and that is why a quick transfer is impossible. There's no way they're going to oblidge so easily and help push a transfer through that neither they nor their fans want to happen.


3 days? Not a chance, let alone 24 hours.
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Again though Pexbo, why would we revisit old ground where we had no joy last time? Do you think we would make an offer to Bilbao this time around, or just simply skip that part and give Laporte the money to buy himself out? That transfer seemed prolonged because of the fact that we tried in a respectful manner to deal with Bilbao first, but like I said previously, from Herrera buying out his contract, until actually signing for United, things moved very fast.
 
We’re talking about lack of time to sign him, difficulties dealing with Bilbao, but…. Laporte is a left footed center back…. How can he manage to play alongside Rojo ? A LVG starter in his 3-5-2 ?
 
Summit said:
Again though Pexbo, why would we revisit old ground where we had no joy last time? Do you think we would make an offer to Bilbao this time around, or just simply skip that part and give Laporte the money to buy himself out? That transfer seemed prolonged because of the fact that we tried in a respectful manner to deal with Bilbao first, but like I said previously, from Herrera buying out his contract, until actually signing for United, things moved very fast.
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If we go behind Bilbao's back and get Laporte to deposit the buyout with the SFA, Bilbao can (and will, because you have to do things their way) ask the Spanish Tax authorities to investigate the case. The Spanish Tax authorities then study the case and report tax liabilities, player and two clubs, as well as fee owed to any previous club (Basconia) and tax liabilities on this fee. In the case of Martinez, the last club to try and do things behind the backs of Bilbao, this took 2 months.

There's zero chance of pushing any transfer through with Bilbao without them delaying it, it's what they do, it's important to the club and it's fans that they don't just let players go when big clubs come calling.


The reason the Herrera transfer happened as quickly as it did is because we played to Bilbao's tune. We put the official bid in, they rejected (making a public show of rejecting it on Twitter), we then went through the motions with Herrera and because we played to their fiddle and let them make a show of rejection, they allowed it to go ahead. It's all bravado with them.
 
Randall Flagg said:
I realise it's an old post, but you do know we dominated the following two seasons and only went out to top notch sides in Europe

Ferguson did not need to invest heavily in the squad at that moment. It would not have sent The right message to many of his best players

Also the players he added, silvestre played against us for inter in the previous 1/4 final. And Bosnich at the time was one of the best keepers in the league. We had also invested heavily on Berg in early 99 to compensate for Johnsens injuries.

Arsenal were the ones who desperately needed better players and that is what they got. We were still far more successful then them anyway.
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You're right we did dominated the local pond which wasn't that difficult to achieve considered we were much richer then the rest. However it took us nearly a decade to win the CL again which is quite a shame to be honest especially when considering the amount of talent we had. To put things into perspective, Barcelona won 3 CL in 5 years. AC Milan did the same in a similar amount of time and none of these teams were that stronger then the treble side.

Silvestre was a disaster waiting to happen. Inter realized that pretty soon by sending him rotting in the reserves until we showed up. To be fair he did improved with us but he was nowhere near to United first team level let alone the Irwin's replacement we taught he would be. Bosnich attitude sucked and his off the pitch antics with Yorke were renowned at Villa. Maybe its not a co-incidence that Yorke's career nosedived the day we brought Bosnich at OT. That's 15m worth of talent thrown in the bin (at a time when 15m were big money).

Now imagine what United would have achieved if instead of buying from Lidl we brought some real talent to replace Schmeichel, Irwin and Johnsen. I can't imagine us not getting at least 1 other CL if the likes of VDS and Roberto Carlos were signed instead of that drivel. That's at least 40m+ (per CL) not to forget the 15m lost because of Yorke's sudden 'dip of form'
 
devilish said:
You're right we did dominated the local pond which wasn't that difficult to achieve considered we were much richer then the rest. However it took us nearly a decade to win the CL again which is quite a shame to be honest especially when considering the amount of talent we had. To put things into perspective, Barcelona won 3 CL in 5 years. AC Milan did the same in a similar amount of time and none of these teams were that stronger then the treble side.

Silvestre was a disaster waiting to happen. Inter realized that pretty soon by sending him rotting in the reserves until we showed up. To be fair he did improved with us but he was nowhere near to United first team level let alone the Irwin's replacement we taught he would be. Bosnich attitude sucked and his off the pitch antics with Yorke were renowned at Villa. Maybe its not a co-incidence that Yorke's career nosedived the day we brought Bosnich at OT. That's 15m worth of talent thrown in the bin (at a time when 15m were big money).

Now imagine what United would have achieved if instead of buying from Lidl we brought some real talent to replace Schmeichel, Irwin and Johnsen. I can't imagine us not getting at least 1 other CL if the likes of VDS and Roberto Carlos were signed instead of that drivel. That's at least 40m+ (per CL) not to forget the 15m lost because of Yorke's sudden 'dip of form'
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Fergie could not have predicted Bosnich would turn out like that.

Berg was a big signing and was more than good enough to fill in for Johnsen

Its all hindsight. Really at the time we were still more than capable of winning in Europe. We came unstuck against very very good teams in Real and Munich. Heavy investment straight after the treble would have put a lot of noses out of joint. IMO

Its an interesting argument and we are in the wrong thread for it.
 
Pexbo said:
I take it you're not familiar with Bilbao.
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haha. You make good points. Still, if the player has declared (I've not seen any quotes, just the Balague tweet) and Bilbao are happy to sell (the big if) for the buy-out fee, there's plenty of time. If they don't, well, then I guess you're right.
 
GledTheRed said:
Do people really think we are gonna drop 30 mill on a near 29 yo Godin?
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Personally no i dont think we should or will. But at 29 we could get 5 years from him as a centre half. 3 years ago we dropped £24m on a 29 year old centre forward wih injury problems and we are considering dropping £40m on similar in the summer.

I would rather see us bring a 30 year old than a 20 year old though. Obviousley the deal must be right but we badly lack any kind of expereiance. Our long serving, experienced players in Rooney and Carrick are not great organisers. One screams and shouts at young/ squad players but wont say a word to a Falcao or a RVP. The other is very quiet and just plays his game.

We need John Terry. Obviousley that isnt going to happen but thats the player we need. Not a 20 year old foreign lad.
 
Manchester United and Real Madrid in transfer battle for defender Aymeric Laporte

  • Aymeric Laporte has a buyout clause of £31.5million
  • Twenty-year-old central defender is a France international
  • Real Madrid see Laporte as a possible replacement for Pepe
  • United will have to make a world-record bid to sign PSG's Marquinhos

Manchester United and Real Madrid are going head-to-head for the signature of Athletic Bilbao's central defender Aymeric Laporte.

The 20-year-old France Under 21 international has been on United's radar for the past couple of seasons - with their well-documented defensive problems yet to be solved.

But with Pepe getting older and Sergio Ramos debating a new contract, Madrid have made the first steps to taking him to the Bernabeu.
The deal won't be cheap though with Bilbao refusing to negotiate and typically pointing to his buyout clause of £31.5m plus the VAT.

Laporte has potential and is a great athlete but is still a little raw.

Another option for Madrid is Inigo Martinez at Sociedad. David Moyes' side are keen on Madrid's former Sociedad midfielder Aser Illarramendi and a deal could be done in the summer unless he opts to go abroad.

Elsewhere, United have been warned they may have to break the world record fee for a defender after also enquiring about Paris Saint-Germain defender Marquinhos.

United stumbled through a 0-0 draw at Cambridge United in the FA Cup fourth round on Friday which left more questions about the strength of their squad and their defence continues to look fragile.

They have sounded out the French champions ahead of a possible summer move for the stylish Marquinhos.

Manager Louis van Gaal has drawn up a list of potential targets and the Brazilian is among those names, however, they have been warned the defender won't come cheap.

The 20-year-old central defender joined PSG 18 months ago from Roma in a £23.4million deal but has found himself playing at right-back to accommodate the arrival of David Luiz this season.

United value Marquinhos at around £30million but PSG have laughed off those figures and United would have to supass the £50m fee PSG paid to Chelsea for Luiz to get him.

His agent Giuliano Bertolucci said: 'Last summer, PSG's president Nasser Al-Khelaifi declared that Marquinhos was unsellable. We will see what their position is this summer. Many clubs are interested in the player. Manchester United are one of them, this is true.'

Marquinhos appeals to Van Gaal as he can play in a four or three-man defensive line and is comfortable in possession.

United predictably are being quoted huge sums for their defensive targets as they weigh up options for the summer.

Atletico Madrid's Diego Godin would be £28.5m, Borussia Dortmund's Mats Hummels will command £30m and Nicolas Otamendi at Valencia has also been discussed but the Spanish side want his buy-out figure of £37m.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...Old-Trafford-free-transfer.html#ixzz3Q1N6EqA7
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
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What world record would £31m break?
 
Anyone else read his name as "asymmetric" - you know, when something is not, er.. symetrical?!
 
poisson said:
Anyone else read his name as "asymmetric" - you know, when something is not, er.. symetrical?!
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No. I read it as Emerick.
Mersault said:
haha. You make good points. Still, if the player has declared (I've not seen any quotes, just the Balague tweet) and Bilbao are happy to sell (the big if) for the buy-out fee, there's plenty of time. If they don't, well, then I guess you're right.
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Yeah, sure, I mean, why would they not want to sell their biggest talent without an even half decent replacement?
 
Randall Flagg said:
Fergie could not have predicted Bosnich would turn out like that.

Berg was a big signing and was more than good enough to fill in for Johnsen

Its all hindsight. Really at the time we were still more than capable of winning in Europe. We came unstuck against very very good teams in Real and Munich. Heavy investment straight after the treble would have put a lot of noses out of joint. IMO

Its an interesting argument and we are in the wrong thread for it.
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I remember quite vividly the media showing concerns about Bosnich deal as his off the pitch issues were well known. Berg was a defender from Blackburn, hardly a world beater and Silvestre was rotting at Inter's reserve and the laughing stock of the Serie A. There's very little hindsight about that.

Big clubs invest big money year after year. You can't afford having weaknesses or else they will be exploited.

Apologies for taking this thread in the wrong direction however I still find the fact that the treble team was able to win just 1 CL as frustrating. That team deserved much better then that. The talent, the attitude, the commitment and the football shown by it was extraordinary. If only more money was invested into the side instead of fattening the shareholders money. There again that was also part of SAF's philosophy which on the whole brought us plenty of success (ie make due until shit hits fan).
 
Mersault might be onto something here. We should activate Inigo Martinez's €30 million buyout clause, then swap him + €10 for Laporte. Athletic Club get a good, young Basque defender and loose change in the bank, United get their primary target, David Moyes gets to further strengthen the Sociedad squad with the transfer fee received for Martinez. Win win for everyone. :)
 
Even though they built their new stadium they're still in a very healthy financial position. And even if your idea wasn't completely crazy, 30M + 10M when the buyout-clause is about €42M? And when Laporte is the bigger talent?
 
Err I was just playing around man.. Wasn't a serious suggestion. :p
 
Invictus said:
Mersault might be onto something here. We should activate Inigo Martinez's €30 million buyout clause, then swap him + €10 for Laporte. Athletic Club get a good, young Basque defender and loose change in the bank, United get their primary target, David Moyes gets to further strengthen the Sociedad squad with the transfer fee received for Martinez. Win win for everyone. :)
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I like this. When we're at it, signing Dragovic and giving him plus a few extra change to Madrid for Varane, would be even better. Imagine having the two best young CB at United :drool:
 
devilish said:
I remember quite vividly the media showing concerns about Bosnich deal as his off the pitch issues were well known. Berg was a defender from Blackburn, hardly a world beater and Silvestre was rotting at Inter's reserve and the laughing stock of the Serie A. There's very little hindsight about that.

Big clubs invest big money year after year. You can't afford having weaknesses or else they will be exploited.

Apologies for taking this thread in the wrong direction however I still find the fact that the treble team was able to win just 1 CL as frustrating. That team deserved much better then that. The talent, the attitude, the commitment and the football shown by it was extraordinary. If only more money was invested into the side instead of fattening the shareholders money. There again that was also part of SAF's philosophy which on the whole brought us plenty of success (ie make due until shit hits fan).
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"Big clubs invest big money year after year"

Why arent they winning Champions leagues every year then? You are being incredibly harsh IMO. I am certain huge investment after the treble was not the answer. It was a world class squad and adding a player here and there was the right thing to do
 
Revan said:
I like this. When we're at it, signing Dragovic and giving him plus a few extra change to Madrid for Varane, would be even better. Imagine having the two best young CB at United :drool:
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But we already have two of the brightest british centre-back talents in Jones and Smalling.
 
Spielmacher said:
But we already have two of the brightest british centre-back talents in Jones and Smalling.
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Yes, but Phil Edwards can play anywhere and be the best player ever, while Smalling will teach Varane and Laporte how to defend. We need depth.
 
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