Aymeric Laporte's Man City Transfer Delayed as Bilbao Names Defender to Matchday Squad

The big-money move for the center back is still expected to be completed, but not before the weekend.

Manchester City transfer target Aymeric Laporte is set to remain an Athletic Bilbao player, for the time being at least, with the Spanish side's coach Kuko Ziganda confirming the defender will be a part of his matchday squad this weekend. 

Reports suggested that the 23-year-old had played his final game for Los Leones and that a €65m (£56.7m) deal, which would active the player's buyout clause, would be concluded with the Citizens before the weekend, however no such agreement has been reached, as of yet. 

The Frenchman's side tackle Eibar at San Mames Stadium on Friday evening, and despite being heavily linked with a move to the Etihad Stadium which was expected to make him unavailable for the clash, Ziganda confirmed the player will be part of his squad and that he had not discussed any potential move with the center back. 

“No, and I still do not lie”, the 51-year-old told his pre-match press conference on Thursday when asked if he had held talks with Laporte regarding the rumored switch, as quoted by Catalan newspaper Mundo Deportivo.

“Yes, count on Aymeric. He is available. We have to be used to dealing with these situations. 

“We have to be open to this type of news, but the important thing is tomorrow’s match against Eibar, reaffirming the feeling we gave in the last game at home and taking a step forward.”

Despite the delay, there is no suggestion of any problem with the 23-year-old's move to Manchester City, and that it is likely an agreement will still be met before the month is out.