Manchester City will wait and see whether Bournemouth defender Nathan Ake’s price has been lowered now the Cherries have been relegated from the Premier League, according to reports in England.
There were claims last week that the Citizens were closing in on a £35m deal for the former Chelsea player, but it appears they have held back from making a formal offer to see if they can snap him up on a cheaper deal.
Some fans on Twitter think City should just sign Ake now, while others feel the club are wise to be patient:
Time kills deals just get it done ?
— Zach Gagne (@ZachGagne) July 28, 2020
Sign the man
— Augustino Giuliano (@tinogiuliano) July 28, 2020
Hopefully the valuation goes down. We shouldn't bid more than 25mil
— Ceepe (@Siphe_Sihle1) July 28, 2020
100% Akè and Koulibaly will be the cb’s we sign
— SammyBoy?? (@SammyBoyMCFC) July 28, 2020
20m or no
— ً (@adzmcfc) July 27, 2020
plz pick us ???
— Shawn (@shawnthesharkk) July 28, 2020
It’s a difficult one. There’s no point overspending on a player if you know he could be available for a smaller fee within a short period of time. However, it could allow others to swoop in if City hesitate too long.
What is clear, though, is that manager Pep Guardiola will want to reinforce his centre-back options ahead of next season in order to claim back their Premier League title.