Five years of Aymeric Laporte at Manchester City

Five years ago today, Manchester City announced the signing of long-term target Aymeric Laporte – a 23 year-old, highly-rated defender – for a reported then-club record transfer fee of £57 million.

Since then, the centre-back has undoubtedly established himself as a truly elite defender. Although, despite his enormous success and evident ability, disappointingly Aymeric Laporte remains somewhat of an under-appreciated talent. 

Joining midway through the 2017/18 season, Laporte enjoyed a decent, albeit unspectacular, first few months in Sky Blue – in which the future Spain international played a small, but important role in Manchester City’s legendary ‘Centurions’ campaign.

Aymeric Laporte’s first season in Manchester culminated with League Cup and Premier League winners’ medals, however the jury was still out on whether he was was a worthwhile acquisition. 

But the following season, the central defender kicked on. 

From the outset of the 2018/19 campaign, Aymeric Laporte quickly established himself as a mainstay of the Manchester City side and an integral component of Pep Guardiola’s team – a team that would later achieve an unprecedented feat. 

Having appeared in 51 of Manchester City’s matches across the season – and playing the most minutes amongst outfield players – Laporte’s role as the lynchpin of the backline was undeniable, whilst his defensive acumen and playmaker-esque passing ability proved to be crucial elements of the successful campaign. 

Along with his defensive brilliance and technical prowess, Aymeric Laporte also developed a penchant for scoring important headed goals – most notably a powerful headed effort that gave Manchester City the lead in the final game of the season against Brighton. That was a lead that ultimately led to Pep Guardiola and his players retaining their Premier League crown, and later, an unprecedented domestic quadruple.

Having established himself as a bona fide world-class defender owing to his phenomenal performances throughout that historic campaign, Aymeric Laporte deservedly landed a place in the PFA Team of the Year and was widely lauded for his efforts across the successful season.

The following term, Manchester City headed into the season with hopes of winning a third consecutive league title. However, on August 31st and just the fourth league game of the new campaign, Laporte sustained a serious knee injury which led to him being unavailable for over half of the remaining season. 

His absence had an immediate effect on Manchester City’s hopes of defending their title, as the Champions shockingly conceded three goals in their next match as part of a defeat to newly-promoted Norwich City. 

Throughout that season, Aymeric Laporte was forced to miss 21 league matches owing to injuries, of which Manchester City were able to win just 12. As such, it would be fair to surmise that owing to his unquestionable importance to the side, injury issues that term effectively ended hopes of retaining a league title.

Injury problems continued to plague Laporte during the 2020/21 campaign, whilst his game time was further restricted owing to the rock-solid duo of John Stones and newcomer Ruben Dias. However, Laporte still played an important role across the season, as City lifted the Premier League for the third time in four years.

Throughout the campaign, Laporte appeared in 27 matches across all competitions and notably played a vital role in Manchester City winning their first trophy of the year courtesy of the defender scoring the only goal of the Carabao Cup final against Spurs – a trademark header late in the second half. 

However, Laporte still found himself unable to nail down a regular spot in Pep Guardiola’s favoured backline and featured sparingly in the final weeks of the season, as City bested Manchester United in the title race.

At the outset of the 2021/22 season, the reigning champions endured a poor start to their title defence as they were defeated by Nuno Espirito Santo’s Spurs side on the opening day of the season. Laporte was restored to the starting XI the following week and he continued as a mainstay in the side across the remainder of the campaign. 

Following his restoration to the starting line-up, the now Spain international enjoyed an unexpected resurgence in form and was again hugely instrumental in Manchester City winning the Premier League title – their fourth in five years. 

Laporte’s phenomenal form throughout the season led to the defender appearing in 33 Premier League matches and his consistently excellent performances prevented John Stones and Nathan Ake from securing consistent game time in City’s backline across the season.

Throughout their victorious campaign, in part owing to the formidable defensive partnership of Aymeric Laporte and Ruben Dias, Manchester City conceded the joint-fewest goals in the league (26). It was also apparent that their build-up play from deep was markedly superior with the Spain international present in the side. 

Perhaps the most accomplished passer of the ball amongst Premier League defenders, Aymeric Laporte’s elite ability to pick precise passes at range, alongside a staggering 95% pass completion rate across the 2021/22 season, allowed Manchester City to exert greater control over matches than in previous seasons. Laporte’s ball-playing proficiency, in conjunction with his ability to effectively read and control the game, proved pivotal in City retaining their title.

Towards the culmination of the season during the 5-1 rout away to Wolves, Laporte sustained a surgery-requiring knee injury and was subsequently stretchered from play.

However, as Ruben Dias, John Stones and Kyle Walker were each struggling with injuries and likely unavailable for the run-in, Laporte bravely elected to postpone surgery and play through pain in the final two games in a bid to help ensure that Manchester City would get across the line and once again lift the Premier League trophy.

Without his valiant effort, City may well have ultimately fallen short.

Arguably the greatest January signing in Premier League history, the dominant, archetypal ball-playing defender has been a revelation since joining Manchester City and has played a pivotal role in the club winning four Premier League titles, three Carabao Cups, the FA Cup, and the Community Shield.

Perhaps one of the most integral yet bizarrely under-appreciated players of the Pep Guardiola era, without the consistent excellence of the world-class Aymeric Laporte throughout the past half-decade, Manchester City simply would not have collected the abundance of silverware that they have done, and he deserves far more appreciation and respect.