Football.- Luis Fernández believes Laporte "is excited" to sign for Athletic, a club "he holds dear."

BILBAO, 17 (EUROPA PRESS)

Former Franco-Spanish manager Luis Fernández, formerly of Athletic Club, believes that defender Aymeric Laporte, currently playing for Saudi Arabia's Al-Nassr, is "excited" about returning to the Bilbao club, where he played between 2012 and 2018, as it is a club "he holds dear."

In statements to Europa Press, the former coach – who lives in Paris but attended the Aste Nagusia in Bilbao and saw Athletic and Sevilla's first LaLiga match at San Mamés this Sunday – has declared that Aymeric "knows what" the red-and-white team is like, and that the player "is at a point where he can feel much better about coming to play here, because it is a club that is in his heart."

Fernández has acknowledged that he would like to see him wear the red and white shirt again "so he can live up to what is expected of him," with the "experience he can bring" to the team today.

On the other hand, the former Atletico manager believes that the current manager, Ernesto Valverde, is doing "great things with this group" of players. "When I see Athletic Club in the First Division for 125 years, it's wonderful. I wish them the best this season, like last year, when they were on the verge of reaching a European final," he declared.

Asked about Nico Williams' decision to renew, he stated that "these are very important decisions that you have to make at a certain point in your career." "If he's decided to stay, it's because he thinks Athletic is the club where he can still win over a following and conquer the Spanish football scene he's in." In that sense, he added that Nico "is playing well" and that the best thing for the club is for him to "stay."