Transfer News: Chelsea have agreed to a fee with Manchester City for Nathan Ake. (Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)
According to Nathan Gissing on Twitter (h/t Football.London), Manchester City star Nathan Ake has now been linked with a move to Chelsea in this summer transfer window. He could be in line to return to Stamford Bridge after leaving for Bournemouth back in 2017.
There is an urgent need to reinforce the Blues’ backline this summer as it has been the foundation of their success in recent times. They had the third-best defence in the Premier League last season despite going through a rough period with key players in the squad getting injured regularly during that time.
Following Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen’s departure, the West Londoners must improve their options ahead of the next season. As such, they could attempt to raid their direct rivals Manchester City for one of their players, Ake, who is keenly admired by Thomas Tuchel.
If that is the case, it is not surprising to see Ake emerging as a potential option to bolster our backline ahead of the next campaign. One could argue that he could be open to leaving Etihad in search of regular game time, having been on the fringes for so long.
With the 2022 Qatar World Cup set to take place later this year, the 27-year-old could use more minutes to make a case for himself with Louis van Gaal. Ake has hefty competition ahead of him, with players like Stefan de Vrij, Matthijs de Ligt, Virgil van Dijk and Jurrien Timber posing obstacles in his way.
As such, perhaps we could use that to convince Ake to rejoin us and become a key player, just like Nemanja Matic had done in the past. Jules Kounde of Sevilla seems likely to move to the Bridge this summer but signing him is not enough to solve our issues in the central defence with two important players leaving as of now.
We have also been linked with the likes of Inter Milan’s Milan Skriniar, Gleison Bremer from Torino and Leipzig ace Josko Gvardiol to improve our defensive options. But none of them appear to be close to joining us this summer as of now, so we may need to look for other targets.
Ake would be a solid choice for that reason, as he played quite well for Man City when Pep Guardiola gave him opportunities. A move to London means Ake would also be playing for a top English club in a league he has been comfortable in with Bournemouth and the Cityzens.
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