Athletic Bilbao president Josu Urrutia has insisted that Aymeric Laporte will not be allowed to leave the Basque club this summer unless the centre-back's buy-out clause of £40m is met.
Laporte, who is currently recovering from a broken leg, has been strongly linked with a move to Manchester City in recent months and it is understood that he is Pep Guardiola's leading target for the summer transfer window.
Urrutia, however, is confident that the 21-year-old wants to remain with his current club.
"Neither Laporte nor any other player has told me he wants to leave Athletic. The way the club works is to give as few clues as possible and work discreetly. In these five years I think the message Athletic has put out is that we are not a selling club," Manchester Evening News quotes Urrutia as saying.
Earlier this month, Laporte denied that he has already agreed to make the move to England.
Written by
Matt Law
Matt Law
