Athletic Bilbao star Aymeric Laporte set to reject Barcelona in favour of £57m Real Madrid switch

REAL MADRID are reportedly set to sign Aymeric Laporte after the Athletic Bilbao ace snubbed Barcelona.

Spanish source Don Balon claim Zinedine Zidane is a huge fan of his fellow Frenchman and wants to bring him to the Bernabeu.

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And the report goes on to say that Laporte, 23, has turned down numerous offers from Real’s bitter rivals as he wants to join the La Liga champions.

Lionel Messi was apparently urging Barca chiefs to snap up the centre-half and he is well known to boss Ernesto Valverde.

But the France Under 21 international is eager to move to Real rather than Barca.

Laporte has made 199 appearances for Bilbao and is under contract until 2020.

And he was also a target for Pep Guardiola in the summer as he revamped his defence at Manchester City.

Laporte has already played four seasons in the top flight and has been seen as Bilbao’s best player.

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Zidane is said to be impressed by his ability to play the ball out from the back which suits his system.

And the fact he would not be cup-tied for the Champions League is another reason that Real are interested in his services.

The sale of Pepe in the summer and the fact Real are competing on four fronts this season has made Zidane prioritise getting reinforcements at the back.

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