French defender Aymeric Laporte is aiming to earn a maiden call-up to the France national side following his Premier League switch. The 23-year-old arrived at Manchester City on a record deal from Athletic Bilbao earlier in January, and he is hoping that the success around the club can enhance his chances of being recognised by Didier Deschamps.
He said: “Of course the more games you win, the more trophies you win, you have more chance of getting into the national side.I have to focus on my club for now, and if things go well, we'll see about that later. I've been very warmly welcomed by the club. The players are very happy to have me, I'm happy to be with them. The club has helped me in every aspect, and that's very good for me. So things are going well on and off the pitch, and we're getting results too, so it's great."
Since arriving at the Etihad, Laporte has not been pressurised with an extended run of games, given the club have the likes of John Stones, Nicolas Otamendi, and skipper Vincent Kompany, who can also feature in central defence. Nevertheless, he has managed to rack up three Premier League starts, and his latest came in the 1-0 triumph over Chelsea this month, where he was largely comfortable with the ball at his feet.
There had been plenty of talk of Laporte switching his allegiance to Spain after having been born in the Basque Country, but he appears to have made his mind up to play for France with Deschamps having previously called him up to make up the squad numbers. At 23, Laporte is fairly established in his professional career, and the next 12 months could give a fair reflection as to whether he can live up to his expectations from his time with Bilbao.