Coventry City backed to seal ‘incredible’ Man City, Nathan Ake transfer | OneFootball

FLW’s Coventry City fan pundit has commented on the Sky Blues’ links to defender Nathan Ake.

Coventry City will be looking forward to Premier League football next season under Frank Lampard.

A battling 1-1 draw at Blackburn Rovers was enough to see the Sky Blues end their 25-year exodus from the big time, as Bobby Thomas’ late header cancelled out Ryoya Morishita’s effort to spark pandemonium in the away end.

Lampard’s men would go on to seal the title with a resounding 5-1 home victory over Portsmouth, while finishing the season on 95 points from their 46 league games to thoroughly deserve sitting at the summit.

Now, all focus will be on building a squad capable of taking on the challenge of the Premier League and surviving, aiming to emulate the achievements of both Leeds United and Sunderland from this year’s top-flight campaign.

Of course, it will be a tough step-up to make, with the gulf between the Championship and top-flight continuing to widen, so the addition of Premier League proven talent is a necessity to help topple the big boys.

One name that fits the bill is Manchester City defender Nathan Ake, who appears to be surplus to requirements under Pep Guardiola and keen to move to a club who will offer him regular first-team football.

And former Manchester United defender Jaap Stam has urged Lampard to seal a deal for the Dutch international.

Via Coventry Live, Stam said of his compatriot: “Nathan Ake has a great personality, he's a clever player. I think he can use that to help other players around him to become better players. As a club, you need to look at that.

"Having said that, with experienced players, sometimes when they go into smaller clubs, they think they always need to play. So you also need to have a look because he's older.

“He played with Frank Lampard at Chelsea so that would be a good combination, I think, because at Coventry, Frank has done a great job to bring them back to the Premier League."

So, with this in mind, FLW’s Coventry City fan pundit has commented on whether he would welcome Ake to the CBS Arena for next season and if he could make the difference in their Premier League survival quest.

Coventry City backed to seal ‘incredible’ Nathan Ake transfer

Speaking to Football League World, Coventry City fan pundit Chris Deez has urged the Sky Blues to complete what would be the ‘incredible signing’ of Nathan Ake, but has admitted a deal ‘may be a little bit out of reach’ given the hefty top-flight competition that could be in for his signature.

Chris told FLW: “I’d absolutely love Nathan Ake to come here. What a signing that would be, and I don’t imagine any Coventry fan would say no, but, as usual, it’s probably going to come down to wages.

“Even if Manchester City were to pay a percentage of his salary, surely we’re not going to be able to pay any more than £50,000 towards it because that’s apparently what our wage cap is going to be.

“I’m going to assume that he’s on a good £150 to £200,000 a week at City and, as usual, other good teams are going to be in for him. Bournemouth are on the verge of Europe, so are Brighton, Everton may be interested, so there’s a lot of factors.

“He’d be an incredible signing for us. He’d be the best centre-back we’ve had at the club in 20 odd years. Obviously, a bit of utility player, can play at full-back as well, so he’s absolutely the type of player I want us to be going for in the Premier League, but I just think he may be a little bit out of reach.

“There’s obviously the fact he’s played with Lampard, it wasn’t much at Chelsea, he played briefly with him. That might factor into it, and I think we’re going to have to use that allure of playing for Frank with a legend like him, a Premier League icon, we’re going to have use that status that he has to try and bring in some better names.

“I’m sure we’ll end up signing some Chelsea youth players, maybe some Man City youth players from his brief time there as well, but I don’t see this one (Ake deal) happening. It’s wishful thinking, I’d love it to happen. I’m sure any Coventry fan would agree with me there.

“More than anything, it’s very promising that those are the type of names we’re looking at.

“I think it bodes well for us that we’re not looking at Slovakian third division strikers that have scored seven goals for a few million. It’s promising that we’re looking at established Premier League players with good experience, they’ve won trophies, and been successful, so I hope at least that side of things keeps up, and we get some of these over the line.”

Coventry City need players like Nathan Ake to break through Premier League barrier

It’s a massive task ahead for Coventry City to survive their first season back in the big time, and the key to doing so will be getting players in with significant Premier League experience that also still have a lot to give in the game.

Nathan Ake is definitely one of those figures, playing over a combined 200 appearances for Bournemouth and Man City in the Premier League over the last nine years, proving himself to be an established and reliable defender at this level.

His ability to play at left-back as well as in the centre of defence is a massive plus point too, while Coventry may be an appealing destination to go to given he would be one of the first names on the team sheet every week.

Ake needs the game-time, while Coventry need some added defensive solidity, so it appears a deal that would work out for all parties.

Of course, as FLW’s Coventry fan pundit mentioned, wages could be the major stumbling block, so any chance of a deal occurring may have to be on loan, with Man City paying a sizeable bulk of his salary.

If the Citizens are prepared to do that, then it should be all systems go, but the likelihood of this happening is slim, so Coventry will have to be smart in how they approach a potential deal.

If a resolution can’t be found, then the Sky Blues may have to pursue other targets, but Ake is someone they don’t want to relinquish interest on too quickly, with the 31-year-old potentially a season-defining signing if they can make it work.

These are certainly the type of players Coventry must pursue, with this caliber of talent in the squad the only way they can make a statement back in England’s top division.