Aymeric Laporte sacrifice stands out in a terrific Man City career

Aymeric Laporte may not be replaced at Manchester City but he will always be fondly remembered.

If it is a sign of the defensive strength in depth available to Pep Guardiola that they are able to let Laporte go, there were several points during the player's five years in Manchester where he was one of the first names on the teamsheet. Just as Ilkay Gundogan could leave knowing he had played an instrumental role in winning Premier League titles, so too can Laporte.

Identified by Guardiola as a key target back in 2016, Laporte enjoyed the rare distinction of being a player that turned the manager down but was deemed good enough to go back for. He signed halfway through the Centurions season and quickly showed why the club were so keen.

Despite having signed 18 months after John Stones, Laporte displayed the mix of style, grit and class that embodied being a defender in a Guardiola side. This was a centre-back fans at the Etihad and in the Premier League were not used to seeing, and he was pretty much ever-present as the Blues won a clean sweep of domestic trophies in the 2018/19 season and almost managed 100 points again.

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Another sign of Laporte's importance came the following year when a serious injury picked up in August proved almost immediately terminal (following Vincent Kompany's departure) for City's hopes of defending their title. The Blues looked instantly better when he returned at the turn of the year, but by then the damage had been done.

Laporte wasn't always the easiest character in the dressing room. He hated not being picked and didn't particularly like being picked out of position.

The Spaniard was also prone to lapses in