Fabrizio Romano Provides Manchester City Update On Two Potential Nathan Ake Replacements

Should Nathan Ake leave the Etihad Stadium this summer then Manchester City could look at signing a replacement during the remainder of the transfer window.

A new report has revealed Manchester City's thoughts on potentially signing defenders Joško Gvardiol or Pau Torres, should Pep Guardiola need to sign a new centre-back ahead of the new campaign.

It seems as if City were well prepared for some of their key outgoings ahead of next season.

Gabriel Jesus’ transfer to Arsenal has been in the works for the past couple of months, and City were not hard-pressed to find a replacement as Julian Alvarez was signed back in January.

Similarly, the Sky Blues started working on the £42 million move to sign Kalvin Phillips as the successor to former club captain Fernandinho before the end of last season.

It is also mooted that Julian Alvarez and Cole Palmer will be given sufficient game time out wide to supplement the imminent exit of Raheem Sterling - with the Englishman undergoing a medical at Chelsea this weekend.

Although, the same cannot yet be said in the case of Nathan Ake, who could sport a different shade of blue by also joining Chelsea ahead of the upcoming campaign.

However, it has been reported that Pep Guardiola’s side are eyeing a replacement for the potentially outgoing Dutch international.

Two names that have recently been linked with moves to the Etihad Stadium are Juventus’ Matthijs de Ligt and Southampton’s Mohammed Salisu, and while City supporters have continued to express their preference for a brand-new centre-back, updates have emerged about two other highly-rated central defenders.

Firstly, as per the latest information provided by transfer insider Fabrizio Romano, Manchester City are understood to ‘really appreciate’ Joško Gvardiol.

However, it is claimed that RB Leipzig want to keep the 20 year-old and are demanding ‘crazy money’ to sanction his sale.

The other defender is Villareal’s Pau Torres, about whom Romano has revealed that City have made ‘no contacts’ to enquire about his potential availability.

In the case of Gvardiol, it comes as no surprise to see the Sky Blues showing interest in his signature.

At 20 years of age and also being a left-footed defender like Ake, the Croatian international is one of the best young centre-backs in world football.

Some have even gone as far as to say that on form, the highly-rated prospect was the standout defender in the Bundesliga last term.

As for Torres, it is likely that the Blues have done their fair share of research on him as they have been linked with signing the Spaniard on several occasions.

It is also worth noting that due to the pair’s stock being sky-high, it seems unlikely that either would join Pep Guardiola’s side without being assured of a starting place.

With Nathan Ake’s role having been primarily as the fourth-choice centre-half at City for the past two campaigns, the aforementioned duo would likely have to step into a similar role.

Considering both Gvardiol and Torres would command a sizeable fee as well, it is likely that Manchester City’s pursuit for a brand-new centre-back will exclude these two big names going forward.