Manchester City have announced their valuation of Nathan Ake ahead of an expected pursuit for the Dutchman in the upcoming January transfer window.
Ake faces a major dilemma as he enters a crossroads market in January, having barely touched a ball for Manchester City this season and receiving a stern warning from Dutch manager Ronald Koeman to resolve his club’s situation and stake a claim on whether he wants to represent his nation at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Advertisement
The 30-year-old is under contract at City until 2027, but has made just one Premier League start since February – in a 2-0 win over Everton in October – with the majority of his minutes this season coming in cup competitions – when Pep Guardiola decided to rest either of his first-choice centre-halves, Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol.
Recurring injury problems prevented Ake from starting the successful 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons at the Etihad Stadium, where the former Bournemouth star played a fundamental role in Manchester City’s domestic and European successes in a dynamic backline heavily reliant on center halves.
However, the emergence of Nico O’Reilly from the City Football Academy (CFA) in 2025 and the form displayed by Gvardiol kept Ake on the fringes of the starting XI, putting his World Cup hopes in doubt.
Manchester City do not possess many options in central defense, having handed out a season-long loan deal to Girona for January signing Vitor Reis in August, with John Stones struggling with recurring fitness issues in the final year of his current contract at the Etihad Stadium.
Advertisement
City also allowed Manuel Akanji to join Inter Milan for the 2025-26 season during the final week of the summer transfer window, leaving them short of reliable cover in the heart of defense should Dias or Gvardiol pick up an injury during the campaign.
However, Ake will be desperate to play for his country at the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico next summer and will be weighing his options in the January transfer window – as a string of clubs line up to claim the unsettled defender.
According to information from Alex Crook of talkSPORTAke rejected a move to West Ham ahead of the January transfer window, despite being open to leaving Manchester City.
With the Dutch international unwilling to join a side in relegation trouble, the report highlights that a trio of Bournemouth, Newcastle and Crystal Palace are among those monitoring the centre-back’s situation.
Advertisement
Although Manchester City want to keep Ake beyond January, as they battle Arsenal for the Premier League title, the Blues will allow a sale for the right price if a suitor club makes a formal offer for the defender.
As for the stance taken by those at the Etihad Stadium, it is revealed that sporting director Hugo Viana and his transfer colleagues value Nathan Ake at around £21million.
