Athletic Bilbao reportedly have Nacho Monreal on their list of replacements for Manchester City-bound Aymeric Laporte.

Athletic are on the verge of selling Laporte to City in a deal worth £56m, leaving them with a gaping hole in defence.

According to Mundo Deportivo, Athletic will need a left-footed centre back to replace the Frenchman, and have two main targets: Real Sociedad’s Inigo Martinez, and our very own Nacho Monreal.

Given their policy of signing Basque-only players, Monreal has been frequently named as a target. The 31-year-old is one of the best Basque defenders around, but has so far proved unattainable.

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Nacho Monreal

With him being in such fine form for Arsenal, there’s little chance of him being sold this month. Monreal seems happy at the club and is getting regular first-team football.

Should Arsenal sign another defender this month, and Monreal’s game time becomes limited, then a move in the summer wouldn’t be impossible. For the time being, though, there’s no reason to let him go.

His experience and versatility have become very useful for Arsenal. He’s also developed a knack of scoring goals, which is making him popular with the fans. It’s safe to say that Nacho isn’t going anywhere.