‘Seriously hope this is true’ - Man City fans encouraged by journalist’s claims on Twitter

The Manchester City fans in the Transfer Tavern are desperately hoping to see a new central defender arrive at the club before the window slams shut this month.

Pep Guardiola’s season is going about as smooth as he could have possibly wished for so far, but the foundations he has built will count for nothing unless he converts City’s promising opening into a trophy filled campaign. City’s chances will be significantly enhanced by the acquisition of new talent in defence this month due to the injury crisis that is emerging at both left-back and centre-back.

Injuries to Fabian Delph and Benjamin Mendy have placed Guardiola in the unfortunate position of chosing between a right back and an attacking midfielder to fill in at left-back, namely Danilo and Oleksandr Zinchenko respecitively.

However, both of the aforementioned players have played well whilst deputising at left-back, so the immediate concern for City’s manager is at centre-back due to the increasingly unreliable nature of Vincent Kompany’s fitness.

City still have John Stones, Nicolas Otamendi and Eliaquim Managala to chose from, but their lack of depth in this position is a genuine cause for concern, especially considering Mangala’s glaring defensive frailties.

With that being said, it is no surprise that The Citizens on Twitter are calling for the club to conclude a deal to sign Aymeric Laporte from Athletic Bilbao. According to Spanish journalist Pol Ballus in Diario Sport, City have triggered Laporte’s release clause and will shortly conclude a deal worth €65 million to bring the French defender to Manchester this month.

The City fans have turned out in their numbers to respond to the news on Twitter, and the majority are hoping that Ballus’ claims prove to be true in the very near future.

Here’s what the City fans had to say in response to the latest Laporte update on Twitter…

https://twitter.com/ManCityArmy1894/status/956281594670714881

Great deal for city in that position, he most likely will bump Stones in the starting lineup eventually.

— Okey Mbama (@okeymbama) January 24, 2018

Serious hope this is true. Fantastic player & much needed given our recent injuries & longstanding issues with Vinnie.

— JMaccarthy #CTID (@1jmaccarthy) January 24, 2018