Manchester United and Chelsea to do battle for £35m defender

Aymeric Laporte is one of the hottest young properties in world football, and the French Under-21 star could be on his way to England.

Laporte is a regular in the Athletic Club first-team, and only the second Frenchman to play for the Bilbao outfit after Bixente Lizarazu, and any interested party would need to match his release clause of €50m (£36.1m). With Everton keen to keep hold of Chelsea target John Stones, Bilbao newspaper El Correo reports that the Blues are keeping close tabs on the 21-year-old. But Manchester United also have Laporte in their sights, while Barcelona are reportedly eyeing him up as a long-term replacement for Carles Puyol. A move to Old Trafford would see Laporte reunited with former Athletic team-mate Ander Herrera, though it seems the Basque club will not budge on their €50m asking price. El Correo also reports that the centre-back will receive his first senior France call-up for November's friendlies against Germany and England, as he looks to make a late run for Les Bleus' Euro 2016 squad.