Manchester City star defender looking for a switch this summer
According to a report from Football Insider, Manchester City are ready to listen to offers for defender Nathan Ake in the upcoming summer transfer window.
Nathan Ake, 26, joined Manchester City in a £41m deal from Bournemouth after the Cherries were relegated to the Championship last summer. Things haven’t gone according to the plan for the Netherlands international at the Etihad Stadium, as he has struggled with injury problems of his own and finds himself behind the likes of Ruben Dias, John Stones and Aymeric Laporte in the pecking order.
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Due to recurrent hamstring problems and lack of regular game time in his debut campaign with Manchester City, the 26-year-old has managed just 11 appearances across all competitions, including eight Premier League outings so far.
Even after Ake has returned to full fitness of late, Pep Guardiola has only used him in second-string sides in the last few Premier League games in order to protect his first-choice defenders for the Champions League.
Football Insider claims now the Cityzens are willing to let the Dutchman leave the club after just one campaign, even if it means taking a financial hit on a player signed for big money.
Nathan Ake arrived at City after four solid years at Bournemouth, clocking 121 appearances. However, he has played very little than expected, particularly due to his own fitness problems. Secondly, the strong partnership of Dias and Stones at the heart of City’s defence has prevented the 26-year-old from breaking into Guardiola’s starting XI.
The Netherlands international is an experienced, highly versatile defender who will surely have some takers if he’s made available this summer. At 26, Ake simply cannot accept a fringe role at the Etihad Stadium and must look for pastures new to fulfil his potential, considering it would be difficult to break the partnership of Dias and Stones in defence and move ahead of Laporte in the pecking order.
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Should Ake leave this summer, the Cityzens will have to recruit a new centre-back. Eric Garcia is also expected to bid adieu on a free transfer at the end of the season, which would leave Guardiola with just Dias, Stones and Laporte as senior centre-half options.
For a club aiming to compete on all four fronts and potentially the Club World Cup next season, the depth in the centre-back department isn’t enough. Thus, it would be interesting to see whether Guardiola brings in a new centre-back or promotes Taylor Harwood-Bellis, who has been a real success on loan with Blackburn Rovers.