Athletic Bilbao centre-back Aymeric Laporte coy on Manchester United rumours

Athletic Bilbao centre-back Aymeric Laporte has insisted he is happy at the La Liga club after recent reports claimed Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal is planning to make a summer move to lure him to the Premier League.

The 20-year-old defender, who has a £31m release clause in his contract at the Basque club, has reportedly caught the eye of many big European clubs after two impressive seasons in La Liga.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was said to be monitoring his situation before opting instead to sign Villarreal centre-back Gabriel Paulista during the January transfer window. Van Gaal reportedly has him on his shopping list to address the weakness in his defence which has been apparent since the summer departures of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Matic.

After recent reports in Spain claimed Real Madrid have also already made an approach to Athletic regarding a summer move for the French under-21 international, Laporte was coy on his future during an interview with AS - but insisted he is happy at Athletic Bilbao and looking forward to the future at the Basque side.

"[Here] The manager trusts in me. I'm very happy and grateful. The team are good. Last game we lost was against Barcelona. We have improved a lot since the beginning of the campaign when we struggled to get our best form. We are now more solid and excited about the future," he said.

"One can always improve. Personally, I still have much to learn."

Asked whether he would like to make that progress at Atheltic or elsewhere, he said: "Here there are many players with great experience and I can learn a lot."

While asked about the Premier League rumours, he added: "[As players] we play the games and that's it. I'm focused on what I'm doing."