Saved from AFC Bournemouth by Manchester City following his former club’s relegation to the Championship, Nathan Aké was meant to be a big part of Pep Guardiola’s plans.
However, a hamstring injury kept the Dutchman out of action for most of the campaign, which allowed Aymeric Laporte and Rúben Dias to form a mighty partnership at the heart of the Premier League club’s defence.
Now back from his troubles, Aké has played a couple of times in the league against Leeds and Crystal Palace, but has, overall, only managed 11 appearances in all competitions for Manchester City.
Having spent £40m on him, the soon-to-be champions will want to see if next season can go a bit smoother, although one man could scupper that plan.
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Aké is one of the players the Portuguese manager he ‘likes’ for the centre-back role, where he would ideally want someone brought in to tighten up a rather leaky defence.
There’s no indication of how feasible this is, but should Manchester City feel they can cut their losses at a reasonable price, it might be something worth exploring.
In all honesty, a loan deal would be likelier due to Roma’s current finances, but it’s one we’ll definitely be keeping an eye on going forward.
