I'd rather do that, but as I said we neither have the time nor the resources. We can't go searching into the Austrian 2nd division to find some wonder-CB that meets all our needs. We don't have a healthy enough squad to leisurely search every corner of the globe, and our transfer system is weak as it is (We're no Dortmund or Porto).
I've often advocated for finding options that won't be too costly but I don't think this is the time to adopt that attitude. We should maintain our scope for big to midtable clubs and players that have some known quality and reputation. We're too desperate to be only accepting players as good as T. Silva but you know what I mean, there's a certain profile that our situation allows for. Decent quality, decent reputation, decent potential. We can't get much pickier than that.
In Laporte, we'd be getting a long term upside as he's even with guys like Marquinhos and Varane for potential. Can't complain too much about a player that mature for this age and with that much payoff despite being in as horrid a situation as we are.
