Manchester City needs to hone up its defensive line and are expected to target several players. Among those linked to the Sky Blues is Nathan Ake of Bournemouth. Discussions were already made but City will try to see if the asking price has any chance of going down a bit.
A reason behind this is Bournemouth is now out of contention and there is no sign that they have plans of relaxing their stance on Ake. The Cherries have set a $51 million tag on the Dutch player. Talks were made last week, Sky Sports reported.
But before thinking that far, the Sky Blues need to offload some players of their own. Among the names expected to depart Etihad Stadium are Nicolas Otamendi and John Stones.
Otamendi has drawn interest from Real Betis while Stones has been linked to Arsenal and Chelsea. So far, all these have been speculations and there is no mention of how much City would get from a possible deal.
Once that is settled, City can divert its focus to see if they have sufficient funds to come to terms with The Cherries. Bournemouth saw its Premier League aspirations crushed recently following a loss to Everton. They ended their season 18th, capping a trying season.
Bournemouth struggled since November, winning only three games aside from three draws. A noticeable hole for Pep Guardiola is the midfield position, explaining why it makes sense for them to pursue Ake.
But if they are bent on getting the 25-year-old player, they need to be on guard. Other teams are also interested in the Dutch national. An Ake coming to Etihad Stadium would be perfect considering he can play left-back. Aside from that, he is also considered a home-grown talent.
So far with Bournemouth, Ake has played a total of 121 games and scored 11 times. Aside from Ake, Guardiola has other targets in mind. Among them include Kalidou Koulibaly of S.S.C. Napoli.
But a bit similar to the case of Ake, Gli Azzurri is seeking a stiff price for the 29-year-old player. Napoli wants $81 million for Koulibaly. That is already a lowered fee from the original $100 million they were initially asking.
Like Ake, there are multiple clubs in pursuit of Koulibaly. Manchester United, Liverpool and Barcelona also have their eyes on the Senegal player, meaning the Sky Blues need to act fast as well. As of this writing, there were reportedly no formal offers made to Napoli according to sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli.
