Gary Neville told ITV on his Euro 2020 coverage (6/23/21 at 4:45 p.m.) that he believes Tottenham-linked Aymeric Laporte is going to be “one of the best” defenders in the world to this day.

The TV expert claimed he was “shocked” that Laporte, who has now apparently been proposed to Tottenham, as reported by Fabrizio Romano, did not start in the last season.

It was Ruben Dias and John Stones who were Manchester City’s main center-backs when they won the Premier League title, although Laporte was previously a regular.

And Neville, who first met the France-born Spain international when he was managing Valencia, had this to say about the player.

“I played against Athletic Bilbao three times when I was at Valencia and he played,” said Neville. “And he was absolutely exceptional.

“I just thought he would be one of the best center-backs in the world when Man City bought him.

“What shocked me was that he didn’t continue this season. I thought when Ruben Dias came along that he would be the partner, Laporte.

“But Stones has emerged and appears to be number one, so he just has a bit of work to do to get back on track.”

Just 18 months ago, it could have been argued that Laporte was Man City’s main man at the back.

But the £ 57million player (BBC Sport) now finds himself on the bench with Pep Guardiola and rumors have surfaced this summer that he could be used as part of a swap deal.

As Man City apparently tried to sign Harry Kane, a number of Man City players, including Laporte, could potentially be used to trick Spurs president Daniel Levy into accepting a £ 100million + offer for the ‘English.