Manchester United Transfer News: Aymeric Laporte Blow Amid New Barcelona Rumours

Manchester United have been dealt a blow in their pursuit of Athletic Bilbao defender Aymeric Laporte, as the coveted defender is reportedly set to join Barcelona.

According to the Mirror's John Cross, Barca "believe they will get" the United target in the next summer transfer window for £35 million.

The highly sought-after 21-year-old is one of Athletic's best and brightest, and despite his tender age, he has been a regular fixture at centre-back for the last two seasons.

According to Squawka, in six La Liga appearances this season, Laporte has won nine tackles and 16 headed duels, as well as making 26 clearances, 20 interceptions and five blocks.

The Frenchman put in a typical all-action performance that belied his years in his last outing, per WhoScored.com:

WhoScored also illustrates the youngster's effectiveness in winning possession for his team:

Spanish football expert Sergi Dominguez runs the rule over what makes him an exceptional young talent, and believes Barca would benefit greatly from his capture:

As Cross' report notes, United are currently making use of a somewhat makeshift centre-back pairing of Daley Blind and Chris Smalling.

Though they've performed admirably at times this season—and prior to the thrashing by Arsenal had conceded just five goals in seven league games—United are crying out for a top-quality central defender, and Laporte is already well on his way to becoming that.

As tempting as a move to the Premier League and a club of United's stature would be, though, it's difficult to imagine Laporte choosing the Red Devils over the Blaugrana, where he would also likely enjoy plenty of playing time.

However, it's wholly possible he'll be staying put at San Mames for the foreseeable future.

According to talkSPORT, he recently told AS: "My name is mentioned in every transfer window and with a lot of teams. I've renewed four times with Athletic. I've done what I wanted, I've shown confidence in the club and them in me. Let's see if we can add more trophies."

Laporte is committed to Athletic for four more years, according to Transfermarkt, and judging from his comments, he appears to harbour long-term ambitions with his club.

If he reaches his considerable potential, a move away at some point in the future does seem likely. But for the time being, he doesn't look overly likely to leave—and if he does, the Camp Nou is his probable destination.