Manchester United Transfer News: Major Aymeric Laporte, Edinson Cavani Rumours

Manchester United are reportedly prepared to meet the buyout clause of Athletic Bilbao defender Aymeric Laporte, while rumours Edinson Cavani is ready to leave Paris Saint-Germain are intensifying.

According to AS (h/t Metro.co.uk's Mark Brus), United and Manchester City are both eyeing a move for Laporte, but the Basques are unlikely to sell the youngster for any fee less than his £38 million buyout clause.

The 21-year-old ranks among the best young defenders in the world and already has bags of experience, despite his young age. Here's a look at some of his highlights:

Laporte made his La Liga debut in 2012 and soon established himself as Bilbao's first-choice centre-back while also displaying his versatility by playing left-back at times. Known for his bruising style of play and physical strength, he has added solid passing to his game in the last few seasons and now looks like a complete prospect.

Per Sport (h/t Goal.com), the France international has long been linked with Barcelona, although rumours he had agreed to a move to City surfaced in February. All three clubs are likely to push aggressively for his signature during the summer.

Athletic are notoriously difficult to negotiate with, and they won't budge on any transfer fee given their Cantera policy. Finding a replacement for Laporte would prove difficult, and United know firsthand how hard it can be to negotiate with the Basques―it took them a year to bring Ander Herrera to the club, per the Guardian.

But the youngster would certainly be worth a transfer battle. Chris Smalling has emerged as one of the top centre-backs in the Premier League in the past two seasons, but manager Louis van Gaal has struggled finding an ideal partner for the England international.

Daley Blind's efforts have been admirable, but the former Ajax man is not a natural fit at the position, and it shows at times, per JOE.co.uk:

The left-footed Laporte would make a fine alternative and allow Blind to slide back out to the wing. At the very least, Laporte would provide a young, talented option to nurture, but given his experience in Spain and obvious potential, he'd likely be a starter the moment he arrived at Old Trafford.

Meanwhile, L'Equipe (h/t Metro.co.uk's Sean Kearns) claimed Cavani is “more determined than ever” to leave PSG, despite Zlatan Ibrahimovic's admission he's almost certain to leave the French capital this summer.

The Sweden international has blocked Cavani from playing consistent minutes as a central striker for Les Parisiens, but per beIN Sports (h/t Get French Football News), he doesn't believe he'll be back next season:

That's good news for Cavani, who has seen the bulk of his minutes as a substitute or in a wide role this season. The Uruguay international would be the clear favourite to replace Ibrahimovic as a central starter, but per the report, PSG would like to bring Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo to France.

United and Chelsea have both been linked with the former Napoli man, per Kearns, and if he does decide to leave Ligue 1 this summer, the Premier League would be a likely destination. Here's a look at some of his highlights:

Cavani has failed to live up to the lofty expectations since moving to Paris from Napoli, where he was regarded as one of the deadliest strikers in Europe. The position switch likely had an impact, but at this point, it's not clear whether he will revert back to the form he showed at Napoli once he gets an extended run at his favourite position.

That makes any move for Cavani a risk, although his scoring record remains impressive, and any club that signs the 29-year-old will receive a considerable amount of goals in return, per WhoScored.com.

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