Manchester City star given Barcelona exit route as Bournemouth consider Antoine Semenyo exchange deal | OneFootball

Manchester City have offered Barcelona the chance to sign out-of-favour defender Nathan Ake in January, as per a new report.

The Dutchman arrived in Manchester in the summer of 2020 but was hardly first-choice in his first two seasons at the club due to injuries and poor form.

Despite rumours of his departure in the summer of 2022, Ake stayed at the Etihad Stadium and mounted an incredible personal comeback in the 2022-23 season. He became a key part of City’s treble-winning team, starting in the Champions League final and playing 41 games in all competitions – more than in his previous two seasons combined.

His excellent performances earned him a new contract in the summer of 2023 and he continued his good form throughout the following campaign as City secured a historic fourth consecutive Premier League title. Ake put in numerous excellent one-on-one performances as a left-back – and defended the box well when playing in the centre of defence.

Unfortunately, the 30-year-old endured another injury-ridden campaign last term, making just 18 appearances in all competitions as Pep Guardiola’s side majorly struggled in defence to undergo their most challenging season under their Catalan boss.

The ongoing campaign has arguably been even worse for Ake, though. After returning to fitness at the back-end of last season, the centre-half has simply not been given a shot to overturn his fortunes and break his way back into Manchester City’s starting XI.

In fact, he has made more starts for the Dutch national team than he has made Premier League starts for the Blues this term, with most of his minutes coming in the Carabao Cup – with Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol forming Guardiola’s preferred partnership in central defence.

In recent weeks, rumours of Ake’s discontent have emerged as he is wary of being omitted of Netherlands’ 2026 World Cup squad – especially given the strength-in-depth which Dutch boss Ronald Koeman possess at centre-back.

This may mean the best way for Ake to get consistent minutes is to leave Manchester in January – and as reported by SPORT in Spain and relayed by Football Espana – the Dutchman has been offered to Barcelona ahead of the January transfer window.

The Spanish giants lack depth in defence and are missing three key players – Ronald Araujo, Andreas Christensen and Jules Kounde – to injury as they enter the New Year and compete with fierce rivals Real Madrid for the La Liga title.

Any potential move would likely be an initial loan deal, with the long-term nature of Christensen’s injury allowing Barcelona to use a La Liga rule to register Ake and stay within their salary limit.

However, Football Espana have also noted that Ake could be used by City in a potential player-plus-cash deal for Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo, who has given his go-ahead to join forces with Guardiola in January to fulfil his ambitions of winning major trophies.

City currently possess five central defenders in their squad and selling Ake would leave them with the rather raw Abdukodir Khusanov and the perennially injured John Stones as the only back-ups to Gvardiol and Dias. This lack of depth could easily be the difference between a genuine title charge and a second-placed league finish for City this term.