Manchester City star Aymeric Laporte to switch international loyalty from France to Spain

Manchester City star Aymeric Laporte will reportedly feature for Spain in the upcoming European Championship after changing his international loyalties from France to play for La Roja. According to various sources, the Spanish Football Federation is rumoured to have already kickstarted the paperwork with FIFA and have the centre back eligible to play for Spain in the much-awaited tournament in the summer. 

Which country was Aymeric Laporte born in? 

Born in the French Basque Country, Laporte is a France-born defender who features for Premier League outfit Manchester City. The 26-year-old has played at various youth levels for Les Bleus, making over 51 appearances at that stage. He is rumoured to have French and Spanish nationalities because of his great-grandparents' Basque descent which also allowed him to feature for Athletic Club for over six seasons. 

 The centre back got his first national squad call-up back in October 2016, with his latest inclusion in Les Blues squad coming in August 2019. However, the Man City star had to withdraw from the squad due to a knee injury and miss out on playing for the 2018 World Cup winners. Despite being called up over five years ago, the 26-year-old is yet to make his debut and play in France's senior team.

Aymeric Laporte Spain move: Luis Enrique orchestrates the switch

The French team consists of a heap of solid centre backs with the likes of  Raphael Varane, Lucas Hernandez, Samuel Umtiti, Presnel Kimpembe, and Dayot Upamecano often chosen as the first choice defenders. Laporte has often been ignored by Didier Deschamps with the World Cup-winning head coach opting to stick with the tried and tested pairings.

 The 26-year-old defender is all set to join hands with Luis Enrique in Spain after the former FC Barcelona head coach pursued the defender to represent La Roja in the upcoming Euros 2020. Various reports also suggest that the Spanish Football Federation had an eye on the French-born defender since August 2016. Luis Enrique is expected to name a 26-man squad on May 21 and is expected to include Aymeric Laporte alongside man City teammate Eric Garcia and Sergio Ramos, Inigo Martinez, and Pau Torres.

Euro 2020 schedule

Euro 2020 was delayed for a year amid the ongoing global pandemic and is now scheduled to kickstart on June 11. The international tournament will be played for a month with the finals set to be played on July 11, 2021. Consisting of 24 teams, the competition will have six groups consisting of 4 teams each. The group A clash between Turkey and Italy is all set to kick off the tournament with the final set to be played at the Wembley Stadium.