Pep Guardiola has given Manchester City the green light to activate Aymeric Laporte’s €50m (£39.5m) release clause in the summer, according to Marca.
Laporte, 21, has been heavily linked with a move away from Athletic Club in recent weeks with Barcelona among those regularly mooted with a move for the French defender.
City’s defence is expected to feel the full brunt of the sweeping changes that are anticipated over the summer when Guardiola replaces Manuel Pellegrini as manager.
Laporte is easily expected to be one of the most expensive arrivals at the end of the season with Athletic Club only willing to allow the defender to go if his staggering release clause is met.
The same happened when Bayern Munich paid £31.6m for Javi Martinez in 2012 and when Manchester United shelled out £28.4m to sign Ander Herrera at the start of last season.
Laporte has been particularly impressive in the Europa League this season, where no player has made more interceptions than the Athletic defender (38).
For more stats on Aymeric Laporte, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
