Man City now plotting move for "extraordinary" £45m-rated machine, he's Laporte 2.0 - opinion

Manchester City currently have the best defensive record in the Premier League with 21 goals conceded in 33 league games.

One figure, in particular, that has contributed a lot to that impressive feat is defender, Aymeric Laporte.

Signed from Athletic Bilbao back in the 2018 January transfer window, the centre-back has made 148 appearances in total for the Manchester club.

With 28 league appearances to his name in this campaign, only three other outfield players have racked up more minutes than the Spaniard.

In terms of what he’s delivered for the team, only Joao Cancelo (2363) has completed more passes in the entire league than Laporte (2355), showing just how much of the ball gets passed around through the centre-back.

From a defensive point of view, the 27-year-old has racked up 14 tackles, 125 pressures, 19 blocks, 29 interceptions and 64 clearances, highlighting how involved and capable he is when required to defend.

Even though Pep Guardiola’s side have some massive games left to play in the Premier League and Champions League before the summer transfer window opens, it seems the club could be in the mix to replicate the same sort of masterclass they made with Laporte.

According to reports in Spain, City have joined their rivals Manchester United in the race to sign Villarreal defender Pau Torres.

Labelled as having an “extraordinary talent to construct the play” by former Villarreal player and coach Javi Calleja, Torres has the second-highest number of passes at the club during this current La Liga campaign.

This shows the similarities between him and his fellow countryman Laporte in terms of being particularly useful when it comes to passing the ball out from the back.

Also, with 11 tackles, 168 pressures, 39