Nathan Ake: Bournemouth accept £41m Manchester City bid for defender
Manchester City have had a £41m offer for defender Nathan Ake accepted by Bournemouth.
Talks between the clubs over the Netherlands centre-back had begun before the end of the Premier League season, but confirmation of Bournemouth’s relegation to the Championship on Sunday all but confirmed that the 25-year-old would depart this summer.
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Ake joined Bournemouth from Chelsea for a club-record fee of £20m in 2017 and had been linked with a return to Stamford Bridge, but City appear to be in pole position to sign the defender.
City have been linked with several centre-backs since the departure of Vincent Kompany at the end of the 2018-19 season. They missed out to rivals United on Harry Maguire last summer and have consistently been linked with Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly.
Ake played 29 times in the Premier League this season for Bournemouth as Eddie Howe’s side were relegated, finishing a point from safety in 18th place.
The fee, which would be a club-record sale for Bournemouth, would see them receive £40m up front, with a further £1m to come in add-ons.
Guardiola was asked about the potential signing of Ake in the January transfer window, at which point he ruled out a move but hinted that he would revisit the situation this summer.
“We don’t speak about that,” he said in answer to a question on the Dutchman. “We’re going to finish this season with the players that we started with. If something’s going to happen, it will be in the summer time.”
Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher has questioned the logic behind City targeting another left-sided centre-back. He tweeted:
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