Chelsea are in advanced talks with Manchester City to sign Nathan Ake this summer, according to reports.
Thomas Tuchel’s side are already on the verge of completing a move for City winger Raheem Sterling after agreeing personal terms with the 27-year-old and close to finalising a transfer fee.
Sterling is expected to cost £45 million plus add-ons, but he could be joined at Stamford Bridge by Ake, who is wanted by the Blues.
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Chelsea are eyeing a defensive rebuild this summer following Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen’s exits to Spain, and have earmarked Ake, Matthijs de Ligt and Jules Kounde as three potential arrivals to replace the departed pair.
Ake and De Ligt are claimed to be key to Tuchel’s plans for the defence, and talks have continued and progressed with Manchester City to bring Ake, who left Stamford Bridge in 2017 for AFC Bournemouth, back to the club.
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As reported by The Times, talks have advanced and accelerated over recent days which have seen the Blues go a step closer to acquiring the Dutch international.
The 27-year-old is highly-rated in Manchester and is valued at around £50 million, with City keen to sign a replacement before, if they are to let Ake depart.
He is open to a return to Chelsea, handing them a boost in their pursuit, and both personal terms and transfer fee have been discussed between the two clubs.
No deal has been agreed yet, but there is a sense of urgency from Chelsea to get deals over the line to bolster Tuchel’s squad ahead of their pre-season tour of the United States this month.
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Sterling is set to join his new teammates, once signed, for the US tour as plans for how the squad will travel across the Atlantic were outlined ahead of Saturday’s flight.
Todd Boehly will be keen to get Ake signed, sealed and delivered following the mounting competition from Bayern Munich for De Ligt.
It’s now believed that the 22-year-old wants to make the switch to Germany ahead of the Premier League.
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This leaves Chelsea with work to do if they want to convince the central defender to move to the English capital.
Boehly and fellow co-owner Behdad Eghbali were in Spain on Thursday evening to meet with Barcelona officials to discuss the futures of Cesar Azpilicueta, Marcos Alonso and Frenkie de Jong.
Chelsea are working on multiple deals at once and once one domino falls, it appears the rest will follow soon after.
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It’s a busy period for the new owners and despite no new signings being confirmed yet, they appear to have everything currently under control.
Topics: Nathan Ake, Chelsea, Manchester City
Matthew Debono