Man City set loss-making price as Juventus rival Crystal Palace for unhappy star | OneFootball

Juventus, Crystal Palace and Inter Milan are all showing strong interest in Nathan Ake as the defender prepares to leave Manchester City in the January transfer window, according to a report.

CaughtOffside claim there will be a major ‘battle’ for Ake’s services this winter, with Juventus and Palace currently his ‘most serious suitors’. Man City ‘are not actively pushing the player out’ but are ‘willing to entertain reasonable bids’.

They have set Ake’s asking price at €30-35million (up to £31m / $40m), having originally signed him from Bournemouth for £41m in August 2020.

Nathan Ake at Man City: The stats

CaughtOffside state that Palace see Ake as a ‘ready-made replacement’ for Marc Guehi, who is poised to leave once his contract expires in June. City are aiming to win the race for Guehi, though Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are all in the frame, too.

Italian giants Juve and Inter are ‘actively working’ on defensive reinforcements and see Ake as an ideal target.

Clubs view the 30-year-old as a great potential signing due to his experience playing at the highest level and his versatility. Ake can operate as a centre-half or left-back, while he is also comfortable in either a back four or back three.

Why defender needs regular starts

Ake is looking to leave the Etihad as Netherlands boss Ronald Koeman has already warned him about his playing time.

Pep Guardiola has only used Ake five times in the league for a total of 201 minutes, leaving the player frustrated. Unless Ake secures a January exit, he is at serious risk of missing out on the Netherlands’ World Cup squad.

CaughtOffside is not the most reliable transfer news outlet around, though our correspondent Dean Jones confirmed Palace’s interest in Ake on October 29.

Jones states that Palace are genuine contenders to sign Ake as City weigh up cashing in on him. However, we understand Ake is more likely to move to Selhurst Park next summer rather than in January.

Guardiola continuing City revamp

City have worked hard to overhaul Guardiola’s ageing squad in recent transfer windows, offloading the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Ederson, Kyle Walker, Ilkay Gundogan and Manuel Akanji.

Ake looks set to be next, and he could be followed out of the club by at least four more stars.

Bernardo Silva – his contract expires at the end of the campaign and he says he already knows exactly what he wants to do. Has been heavily linked with a return to Benfica.

Stefan Ortega – like Silva, his contract is up in June. Will no longer needed be if Gianluigi Donnarumma’s backup, James Trafford, fails to secure a loan move in January.

Kalvin Phillips – desperately needs a permanent transfer away from City as he is not in Guardiola’s plans.

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