Manchester City are not planning on selling Nathan Ake this summer, and would only sanction a departure should a bid of £50m+ be offered for the Dutch defender.
Any deal would also require them to have a replacement lined up, something that is not the case at present, handing interested parties a blow in their pursuit of the defender.
It was thought that Chelsea had a strong interest in their former player, with a bid of around £35m having been touted as enough to get a deal done for Ake, who played just 14 Premier League games last season in Manchester City’s title win.
However, as per the Manchester Evening News, ‘it would take more than £50m from Chelsea for City to even consider looking for a defender to allow Ake to go’, with Manchester City only having four centre-backs on their own books at present and unlikely to weaken their squad as they look to push for multiple trophies again next summer.
Nathan Ake was on the books of Chelsea before he joined Bournemouth in 2016 Credit: G54FDA Soccer via Alamy
‘While Pep Guardiola has a general rule that any players that want to leave will be allowed to if they present an acceptable offer from another club, the Blues would not countenance letting the versatile Dutch defender leave without both getting a very good price for him and knowing a replacement they can attain in this window’, the report adds.
Manchester City set to announce Kalvin Phillips deal
Meanwhile, Kalvin Phillips’ move from Leeds to Manchester is set to be announced in the coming days, with the Englishman having signed a contract with the Cityzens as part of a deal worth up to £50m.
Kalvin Phillips has agreed to join Manchester City this summer (Photo by Craig Mercer/MB Media/Getty Images)
The midfielder’s medical is scheduled for Friday, and there is hope that an announcement will be made either on the same day or over the weekend.
