Manchester City Eye Southampton Star As Defensive Reinforcement

One transfer rumour that refuses to go away involves Chelsea’s pursuit of Nathan Ake this summer.

With Todd Boehly handling his side’s business head-on ever since taking over the club, the Dutchman could head alongside Raheem Sterling to Stamford Bridge next season.

As Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen have joined Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively, the West Londoners are targeting their former defender’s presence amid an ongoing crisis at the back.

While the likes of Sevilla’s Jules Kounde and Juventus’ Matthijs de Ligt linked with Thomas Tuchel’s side, it was reported that the club had agreed personal terms with Nathan Ake to complete his signing this summer.

As a result, it has been mentioned that the Premier League champions will dip into the market to find a replacement for the potentially outgoing 27-year old.

With Manchester City playing in excess of 50 games across all competitions last season, Nathan Ake’s versatility came in handy as he provided cover at centre-back and left-back adeptly at different points of the campaign.

Considering Pep Guardiola’s side will be expected to challenge across all fronts in the upcoming term as well, the club have been linked with a familiar face to bolster their defensive ranks in the summer.

As per information provided by StatCity, Manchester City are targeting the addition of Mohammed Salisu as their potential replacement for the seemingly Chelsea-bound Nathan Ake next season.

The Ghanaian earned the collective respect of the Sky Blues supporters during the side’s 1-1 draw against Southampton, in which he put on arguably one of the best individual defensive displays of the 2021/22 season.

Signing for the Saints in 2020, it took a campaign of adaptation to English football for the 23 year-old before his stock started to rise.

However, Salisu’s all-conquering displays at the back in his sophomore season led to many claiming that he was one of the most in-form centre-halves throughout the course of last term.

Ultimately, the speculation around the former Real Valladolid defender being touted as the successor to Nathan Ake certainly makes sense on several levels.

Much like the Dutch international, Mohammed Salisu is also a left-footed centre-back, which remains a rarity in the transfer market.

In addition, he would be brought in to occupy Nathan Ake’s potentially vacant spot as a fourth-choice defender - which is a much more realistic possibility than the other names that have been linked to City such as Joško Gvardiol, Pau Torres and Jules Kounde.

While the Southampton star would have to play second fiddle to establish defenders such as John Stones, Ruben Dias and Aymeric Laporte initially, the player’s ceiling suggests that he could become a regular starter one day.

Much like Kalvin Phillips, Mohammed Salisu may brush aside lesser minutes for the prospect of fighting for his place at one of the best teams in the world, which makes this potential move worth keeping tabs on.