Why people think Athletic have played a blinder by selling Laporte to Man City for €65m

Manchester City have strengthened their defence. Again.

After spending big on full-backs in the summer, Pep Guardiola has added central defender Aymeric Laporte to his squad for a club record £57m. The Frenchman, yet to be capped by his national side, has joined from Athletic Club and signed a five-year deal at The Etihad.   The Bilbao-based side haven't exactly wasted any time in their efforts to fill the void left by Laporte, either. As soon as news started to break that the 23-year-old was City-bound, it also emerged that they had activated a €32m (£28m) release clause in the contract of Real Sociedad's Inigo Martinez. Martinez, who has also been linked with a move to City at times this season, is now expected to head to Bilbao in a deal that will make him the most expensive Spanish defender in history. Perhaps predictably, some have claimed that Athletic Club have actually done better from the deal - suggesting they have invested their money wisely and on a better player than the one they have replaced. https://twitter.com/NotoriousJOS/status/958294959223959559 https://twitter.com/FinallySL/status/958287939062165504 https://twitter.com/utdcover/status/958237146023940096 https://twitter.com/RibbonNTheSky_/status/957244430129467392 https://twitter.com/raulgarciacant/status/958225067254697984 https://twitter.com/Koezo123/status/958297748251529216 https://twitter.com/HeyMhki/status/958303311953825792 Martinez, a Spanish international, has also interested Barcelona in recent months. They were reportedly put off by his price in the summer and have opted to strengthen their defence with Yerry Mina this month.