According to recent reports, Bournemouth centre-back Nathan Ake is ‘expected’ to join Manchester City this summer.
The Guardian reports that the 25-year-old will be part of a huge restructuring of Pep Guardiola’s defence at Manchester City, with Ake being a ‘key recruit’ this summer, in a deal which is expected to cost around £35 million.
Manchester United and Chelsea are also said to be interested in the Netherlands international, however, the reports state that it is ‘believed’ that the defender will join City.
The centre-back has impressed – despite his side’s league struggles – this campaign, averaging 1.1 tackles, 1.2 interceptions, 5.1 clearances and winning 2.1 aerial duels per game in the Premier League, as well taking 0.9 shots and making 0.2 key passes per game and averaging an 87.6% pass completion rate.
In addition to this, the 25-year-old has also chipped in with two goals and two assists for his side, culminating in an average WhoScored match rating of 6.75 over the course of the season.
TIF Thoughts…
While the argument could be made that Ake is not exactly a marquee signing for City, as, after all, he would theoretically be moving to the six-time league champions from a side that have conceded 64 goals and look likely to suffer relegation this season, Ake’s impressive stats go some way to proving that he is better than the level of Bournemouth.
Also, with the defender currently valued by Transfermarkt at £25.2 million, a potential deal of £35 million represents decent value in the market for the Cherries’ most valuable player.
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Meanwhile, with Pep Guardiola stating earlier this season that he would like to bring in two new centre-backs this summer, and the club also being heavily linked to Kalidou Koulibaly, it would appear that Ake would be a very capable backup option to the Napoli defender and City’s highest-rated centre-back this season, Aymeric Laporte.