After completing a deal to sign Valencia winger Ferran Torres for £20.87 million on Tuesday evening, Man City show no sign of stopping in the summer window – with manager Pep Guardiola completing a deal to sign Nathan Ake.
City were ‘expected’ to land Ake in the next few days after completing a deal for Torres – and the former Chelsea prodigy has linked up at the Etihad.
Likened to Arsenal defender David Luiz in his prime, Ake looks set to become our first defensive acquisition of the transfer window – with City also being linked to Kalidou Koulibaly, David Alaba and Diego Carlos.
A necessity or a luxury?
It’s no secret that the Sky Blues have struggled defensively over 2019/2020, and this could be put down to a number of key factors.
Former captain and club legend Vincent Kompany’s presence as a leader at the back has arguably been sorely missed, along with his 2018/2019 partner Aymeric Laporte, who has suffered through lengthy injury absences.
Fernandinho has also been unable to take up his usual role protecting the back four as a deep-lying central midfielder, utilised by Guardiola this season as a centre-back to make up for Nicolas Otamendi and John Stones’ inconsistent runs of form.
Taking all this into account, centre-backs should be at the top of Txiki Begiristain’s priority list, and Ake could prove a very useful addition to the squad.
What the pundits say…
The ‘outstanding’ 25-year-old has been linked with a move to City over the last few weeks, and now the signing appears has come to fruition, Bournemouth teammate Simon Francis will be gutted.
Back in April, writing in The Sun, the defender waxed lyrical over Ake’s contribution under Eddie Howe whilst hoping he doesn’t move on any time soon.
“When he first signed on loan from Chelsea he was not in the team straight away and I don’t think he or the manager knew his best position,” explained Francis.
“He used to prefer playing holding midfield. He can do everything now and though it’s hard for me to say, I can see him having a top career at one of the big boys — I just hope it’s not any time soon!.”
The final verdict…
City may be hoping that Ake isn’t their only defensive signing this summer, but given his age, price tag and versatility as a centre-back, central midfielder or full-back, we may have landed a real asset ahead of our 2020/2021 Premier League title challenge.
According to WhoScored, the Dutchman even wins more aerial duels than the likes of Laporte, Rodrigo and Eric Garcia.