Manchester City poised to agree to €35M player exit in January – Three clubs ‘positioned’ to do a deal | OneFootball

Officials at Manchester City are ready to do a deal for Nathan Ake during the upcoming January transfer window, a new report has claimed.

City revamped their first-team roster in the summer as Hugo Viana stepped in as director of football and loosened the purse strings after a dormant 2024 summer window wherein the clubs should have been more aggressive, as admitted since by chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak.

Viana signed on a series of high-profile departures in his first summer at the Etihad Stadium as Kevin De Bruyne, Scott Carson, Kyle Walker, James McAtee, Ilkay Gundogan and Ederson left permanently, with Jack Grealish and Manuel Akanji among a wide array of names leaving on season-long loans for regular playing opportunities.

The Blues have recovered from a slugging start to the season and look set to mount a genuine challenge for the Premier League title after putting Liverpool to the sword in a 3-0 victory on Sunday to cut Arsenal’s lead at the top of the table to four points heading into the forthcoming international break.

City are not expected to be nearly as active in the January 2026 transfer window as they were in the summer, though Viana and co will be monitoring potential openings in the market that are deemed too good to turn down as Guardiola and his staff assess the squad amid a collective desire to compete on all fronts this season.

Injuries to key players or an opportunity alike to Gianluigi Donnarumma from the summer could tempt Manchester City to tweak their squad come January, with a few departures also likely as clubs look to get regular minutes in the locker ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Nathan Ake has barely played for Manchester City this season and was on the bench once again on Sunday – having made just one Premier League start this term, against Everton, when the Netherlands international was named in the starting XI in the league for the first time since February.

The 30-year-old has since started in the Carabao Cup but there remain huge question marks over the Dutchman’s prospects under Guardiola as he enters the final 18 months of his current deal at the Etihad Stadium.

City are heavily stocked in central defence and the emergence of Nico O’Reilly at left-back in the last nine months has limited minutes for Ake, who also faces competition from summer signing Rayan Ait-Nouri, who has recently returned from injury and will also stake a claim for minutes down the left side of defence.

According to the information of Sky’s Sacha Tavolieri, Ake could become the first player to leave Pep Guardiola’s squad in the January transfer window – with all of Inter Milan, Juventus, and Crystal Palace positioned to sign the defender.

With the former Bournemouth star, who joined Manchester City in 2019, no longer fully in Guardiola’s plans, as reflected by his limited opportunities on the pitch this season, City would only be willing to negotiate in the event of a permanent transfer in the region of €35 million.

It remains to be seen whether City look to recall January signing Vitor Reis, who is currently on loan at Girona, back to England should Ake succeed in securing a departure from the Etihad Stadium to boost his National Team prospects for the FIFA World Cup.