Newcastle United have been linked with a January move for Manchester City defender Nathan Ake, who has now spoken out about his future.
Indeed, Ake has been linked with Newcastle United, as they consider a move for a new defender this month.
While it remains to be seen if Newcastle go down the route of moving for players with Premier League experience or pursue younger options from abroad, a defensive signing could be in order.
You can sign ONE defender in January, who are you taking? ✍️
Eddie Howe’s side have lost several defenders to injuries over the past few weeks and while some of them are expected to return soon, it does expose a weakness in the squad.
Ake, who has lifted the Premier League on four occasions since joining City from Bournemouth in 2020, has recently been asked about his future.
Nathan Ake’s cryptic answer on his Man City future
The defender was interviewed by the Manchester Evening News following City’s 0-0 draw with Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Thursday.
Ake, who has only started five games across all competitions this season, revealed that Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman has told him to find more regular football ahead of the World Cup later this summer.
While the 30-year-old didn’t exactly state he was going to leave City, he did rather cryptically suggest he will see what happens during the January transfer window.
“He [Koeman] has said to me a few times actually that he wants me to play more and sometimes it is difficult to call me up if I don’t play a lot, that’s obvious,” said Ake.
If you could sign ONE Premier League player this month – who would it be?
“Every player wants to play as much as possible while also appreciating that the team is doing really well and the players in my position are doing really well so I have to keep going and wait for chances.
“The only thing I can say is I keep fighting every time. You want to play every game, I’m not going to say I should play every game because Ruben [Dias], Josko [Gvardiol], Nico [O’Reilly] and the whole defence have been doing fantastic but every player wants to get minutes so the only thing I can do is fight and try to get opportunities like today and we will see in the future what happens.”
Nathan Ake’s Man City wages could prove major stumbling block for Newcastle United
Ake would certainly be a logical addition and has worked with Howe before at Bournemouth.
Able to operate in two different positions, he’s hugely experienced within the Premier League.
However, the defender’s wages at City look like a major issue. According to Capology, the former Chelsea youngster is paid around £160k-per-week.
That would put him level with Bruno Guimaraes, who is currently Newcastle United’s highest-paid player.
Obviously, the two clubs could come to an agreement about how much City pay towards his salary but, frankly, it’s difficult to see why the Etihad club would do any favours to Newcastle.
After all, Newcastle and Man City are believed to have a difficult relationship off the pitch, complicated by their interest in Tino Livramento.
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