Athletic Club face Juventus challenge over Aymeric Laporte

Athletic Club are bracing themselves for a potential move to bring Aymeric Laporte back to the club this summer.

Laporte is pushing to leave Al Nassr in the coming weeks as he looks to move back to Europe ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The veteran defender is pushing to be involved in Luis de la Fuente’s squad for the tournament next summer with major competition for places in his back line.

The 31-year-old has previously hinted he would be interested in a move to Real Madrid, but that did not materialise into an offer to bring him back to Spain for the 2025/26 season.

There has also been interest from the Premier League in Laporte with Arsenal and Aston Villa tracking him.

Arsenal and Aston Villa interested in Laporte

According to reports from Caught Offside, Villa and Arsenal have made contact with Laporte’s representatives.

However there are a number of other clubs also interested in him, including Napoli, Inter Milan, Marseille and his first team Athletic Club.

A move to Serie A appeals to him but the pull of a move back to the Basque Country could be decisive as part of any talks.

His current contract in Riyadh runs until June 2026 and this summer is Al Nassr’s final chance to sell.

Athletic Club prepare Laporte offer

As per the latest report from Diario AS, Al Nassr are ready to listen to offers, with Juventus the main challengers to Athletic Club at this stage.

The main stumbling block over bringing him back to Bilbao could be Laporte’s huge wages which he will want to keep a portion of in place.

The report indicates he currently earns around €25m per year in Saudi Arabia, and will need cut that by more than 50% to move back to the Estadio San Mames, if Al Nassr sanction an exit.