Man City will let centre-back leave in exchange for Barcelona midfielder

Over the past six months, Barcelona have had three players move to Camp Nou from Manchester City in the form of Sergio Aguero, Eric Garcia and more recently, Ferran Torres.

And, it seems like the Catalans are intent on continuing their dealings with the Premier League champions in the summer as well, with Aymeric Laporte emerging as a subject of interest for Xavi Hernandez & co.

Upon arriving at the Etihad in January 2018, the Spanish international became an integral member of the team. Even though he lost his place in the side somewhat last season, Laporte has reclaimed his spot alongside Ruben Dias in the lineup this term, with John Stones getting relegated to third-choice.

The 27-year-old is a player that Barcelona have been monitoring for a while, having been linked with him in the summer. However, signing him in the summer will not be easy, as SPORT (h/t El Nacional), reports that the Catalans will need to shell out a sum of €65 million or more to tempt Manchester City into entering talks.

With Barça targeting a marquee signing in Erling Haaland, funds to invest elsewhere could become scarce. However, El Nacional adds that an alternative arrangement could be arrived at with the Citizens over a deal involving Laporte.

As per the report, the reigning champions of England would consider selling the former Athletic Club defender to the Catalan giants if midfielder Frenkie de Jong is offered in exchange.

City manager Pep Guardiola is a huge admirer of the ex-Ajax midfielder and had asked about him during negotiations for Torres last month. Now, it is being claimed that the former Barça head coach could consider letting Laporte move to Camp Nou if the Dutchman went the other way.

De Jong has come under a lot of criticism this season for his off-colour displays in midfield, while there have been reports that the Blaugrana might be willing to offload him for the right price. It now remains to be seen if they are willing to trade him for the Manchester City defender.