Lots of people out there claim that Man City have lost the Premier League title to Liverpool this season due to their defensive weakness. Stats say that under Pep Guardiola has spent a ton of money on attacking players, and some Man City fans keep on asking themselves whether the Spaniard boss has forgotten about signing central defenders to reinforce his template.
So, here goes some good news for Man City fans, as it was announced that the Cityzens have reached an agreement for relegated side Bournemouth Nathan Ake. The 25-year-old will arrive at Man City for around 40 million pounds, with another million in possible bonus.
It was already expected that the Holland international, Ake, would leave Bournemouth by the end of the season, and the club’s relegation to the Championship was merely a trigger for Guardiola side to go on and place a bid for the Dutchman.
It could prove to be a great sign if he’s given the time he needs to adapt himself to the Guardiola system. He’s clearly better than Nicolas Otamendi, not to mention 35-year-old Fernandinho, who isn’t even a center-half, but Guardiola keeps on insisting in improvising the Brazilian at the back.
It’s indeed very hard to compete with Man City’s financial firepower. I don’t really think that Ake would be worth 40 million pounds, but I said the same when Liverpool threw around 70 mill for Virgil van Dijk, and it ended up being an absolute bargain for the cost-benefit the Dutchman has added to Klopp’s template.
Despite reaching an agreement with Bournemouth for Nathan Ake, it’s said that Man City have also opened talks with Valencia defender Ferran Torres. It’s fact that we’ll have another interesting season in the Premier League, as both Man City and Chelsea are splashing the money to bring in quality players, as Liverpool keep on their solid squad in order to retain the Premier League title.