Pep can repeat Laporte masterclass as Man City eye swoop for £51m "special talent" - opinion

Manchester City have shown over recent years that they are capable of signing players from other top clubs across Europe.

Previous summer transfer windows have seen the Citizens secure deals for players such as Ruben Dias, Rodri and Joao Cancelo among others.

One other player that the Manchester club have signed from another European team that has turned out to be a phenomenal bit of business for them is Aymeric Laporte.

Signed from Athletic Bilbao back in the 2018 January transfer window for a then club record fee of £57m, the defender has gone on to make 155 appearances for Pep Guardiola’s side across all competitions.

In those appearances, the Spaniard has scored 12 goals, provided three assists and won numerous domestic trophies including four Premier League titles.

Now that his latest season with City has come to an end, the upcoming summer transfer window could give the club the chance to replicate the same sort of masterclass they pulled off by bringing Laporte to the Etihad.

Last month it was reported that City had reportedly spoken with the representatives of Inter Milan centre-back Alessandro Bastoni over a potential summer move.

The 23-year-old joined the Italian giants in the 2017 summer transfer window from fellow Serie A side Atalanta.

Since then the centre-back has made 118 appearances for the club, scoring three goals and providing eight assists in the process.

Labelled as a “special talent” by journalist Muhammad Butt, Bastoni has a reported price tag of €60m (£51m), meaning that it would cost City a similar sort of fee to the one that shelled out to sign Laporte.

To highlight his defensive talent, the Italy international ended the recent Serie A campaign in the top five for the average number of tackles