Late last week, the rumour about Napoli and Nathan Aké came back to the fore, and it was made clear the Bournemouth defender wasn’t a priority for the Serie A side.
The Dutchman appeared to be the third option for Carlo Ancelotti, with AS Roma’s Kostas Manolas and German Pezzella of Fiorentina ahead of him.
This is further confirmed by Il Mattino over the weekend, who explain that while there is an interest in Aké from Napoli, it doesn’t go beyond that for now, with no concrete moves made as of yet.
The main reason for this is the Cherries’ valuation of the player, believed to be around €35-40m, which the Italians aren’t prepared to pay.
The fact Napoli are currently trying to find ways to avoid paying the €36m for Manolas (his release clause) by offering Dries Mertens as a makeweight tells you everything you need to know about their stance regarding a new centre-back, and it’s no different with Aké.
However, down the player’s end, it’s all very different.
Il Mattino state there would be a ‘maximum willingness’ from the Holland international to accept a proposal from the Serie A side, ‘since the boy is literally in love’ with Naples, where he is said to go ‘at least a couple of times a year’.
Aké would also be ‘enthusiastic’ about the idea of being coached by Carlo Ancelotti, who took over from Maurizio Sarri last summer and guided them to a comfortable second spot in the league.
For now, this all appears to be a one way love story.
