Manchester City 'Likely' to Complete £40m Deal for Bournemouth's Nathan Ake

AFC Bournemouth centre-back Nathan Aké is 'likely' to complete a £40m move to Manchester City this summer.

The 24-year-old defender has been one of Bournemouth's standout players in the Premier League since moving to the south coast in 2016, joining from Chelsea in £20m deal.

Aké has picked up interest from a number of sides in recent transfer windows, but despite a move never materialising, it's now being claimed that the Netherlands international could secure a move away from Bournemouth this summer.

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French outlet L'Equipe claim that Aké is 'likely' to join Manchester City in a £40m deal ahead of the 2019/20 season, with Pep Guardiola's side appearing to shortlist the defender as an alternative to Leicester City star Harry Maguire.

It's been known for some time that City want to sign a new centre-back this summer following the departure of Vincent Kompany, who's moved to join Anderlecht as player-manager.

Eliaquim Mangala is expected to be sold this summer with just 12 months left on his contract at Etihad Stadium, while fringe players Pablo Marí and Erik Palmer-Brown aren't part of Guardiola's plans.

Netherlands Under-21 international Philippe Sandler will slowly be brought into the first-team at Manchester City, but the club are believed to be eyeing Aké as a ready-made replacement for Kompany this summer.

Talk over Aké's future has pretty been quiet of late, but odd links to Tottenham and even Napoli popped up during the early stages of the transfer window.

It's unknown exactly how L'Equipe understand that the defender is 'likely' to join City as it's a story which has come out of the blue, and while it might be a dud, fans should be keeping an eye on this one to see how much traction it gains over the next few weeks.