Juventus-Inter, duel for Manchester City outcast
In very few weeks the winter soccer market session will open and Juventus is looking for a new defender to shore up the shaky defense, which since Luciano Spalletti’s arrival has not conceded a goal on only four occasions. The Bianconeri club is evaluating both young and experienced profiles, and a duel with Inter Milan could be sparked for the champion outcast at Manchester City: Nathan Aké.
The Dutch player has collected just 222 minutes in the Premier League so far and is at the bottom of Pep Guardiola’s hierarchies, which is why he might decide to make a change of scenery in January: the defender wants to convince Ronald Koeman to bet on him for the next World Cup but he needs to play continuously, something that has not happened so far at Manchester City. He would certainly have more space in Italy but he will have to revise his economic demands considerably if he wants to move to Serie A.
Beppe Marotta’s Inter will definitely have to intervene in defense: Francesco Acerbi and Stefan de Vrij are at the end credits of their Nerazzurri experience and will have to be adequately replaced. The Biscione was working to intervene in the summer but the Aké’s opportunity could upset the club’s plans and convince the Nerazzurri to anticipate the blow. At the moment it is only a hypothesis but, should the Dutch defender show Guardiola a desire to make a change, Juventus and Inter could initiate contacts with the player’s entourage.
Bred in the youth ranks of Feyenoord, Nathan Aké joined the Chelsea ranks when he was still a youngster. The Blues then sent him out on loan to give him the opportunity to play steadily and grow: first Reading, then Watford and then Bournemouth, which then bought him outright in 2017 for 23 million euros. In the Rossoneri Aké did very well and 3 years later Manchester City won him for more than 45 million euros, a considerable sum for a defender but one that certifies the great qualities of the champion.
Initially he was a staple of Pep Guardiola’s team, then he had a few injuries and Manchester City made other top purchases in defense, so Aké ended up in oblivion. A meeting between the Dutchman’s entourage and the Manchester City management is expected in the next few weeks: if Aké does not receive reassurances about his minutes, he may pack his bags and look for a new accommodation.
In September, Inter closed the Manuel Akanji deal with Manchester City: the experienced defender arrived in Milan on an onerous loan (about 1 million euros) with a redemption option set at 15 million euros. The option would become an obligation should Inter win the Scudetto and Akanji play at least 50 percent of the matches.
