Why City think £56.7m Laporte was worth wait

Laporte's girlfriend, Sara Botello, posted a picture on Instagram of them embracing

Laporte has captained France at four separate youth levels, but is yet to win a senior cap. He has occasionally played at left back, which is good news for Pep Guardiola given that he is short of options in that area since Benjamin Mendy ruptured a cruciate ligament in September.

Why has he cost so much?
Athletic were adamant that they would not accept a penny less than the £56.7 million release clause that was written into the contract that he signed 18 months ago, when he turned down a move to City.

The fee may seem a lot — he is the second-most expensive defender of all time, after Virgil van Dijk — but at the end of the season, his release clause would have risen by another £4.4 million.

Guardiola says that he holds nothing against Laporte for turning City down in the summer of 2016 over fears that he would not be a first-team regular under the Catalan.

“Laporte didn’t want to come 18 months ago, I said, ‘It’s OK,’ ” Guardiola said. “I want the best for the player. And I don’t want players here who believe in another solution. Now he is here for a new challenge.”

Laporte is exactly the kind of centre back that Guardiola likes

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Why did Guardiola want him?
Laporte is exactly the kind of centre back that Guardiola likes. He is quick, has good positional sense and is excellent with the ball at his feet.

Guardiola’s team lack height and have struggled to defend set pieces, so it helps that Laporte is 6ft 2in. Although Laporte is left-footed, he is almost as good at passing with his right foot. The fact that Laporte has played for Marcelo Bielsa, the former Argentina, Chile and Athletic manager, also makes him an attractive player for Guardiola. The Catalan may have won 21 trophies in eight years of management, but he once described Bielsa as “the best coach in the world”. Guardiola sought his counsel when he first went into management and looks up to the Argentininian, who managed Laporte at Athletic from 2011 to 2013.

“If Marcelo Bielsa or Ernesto Valverde [who also coached Laporte at Athletic] helped them it’s already a win for me as they are good managers, as is José Ángel Ziganda, [the Basque club’s present manager],” Guardiola said.

Will he go straight into the team?
City were last night given international clearance for Laporte to make his debut against West Bromwich Albion at the Etihad Stadium tonight. Even though he has got the green light to feature, Guardiola may well stick with John Stones and Nicolás Otamendi in central defence for now. City have conceded only 18 goals this season, thanks partly to the formidable partnership of Stones and Otamendi, but the former has made a few costly errors of late and there are concerns over the latter’s pace.

Laporte is also prone to the odd lapse in concentration, but Guardiola is not concerned by his ability to adapt to his new surroundings. “The Premier League is special in many senses but he is intelligent,” Guardiola said. “Always for the young players it is a little bit tough but he is not here for three months. He is here for four or five years.”