Chelsea’s talks are ongoing over a £45m move for Nathan Ake but Manchester City want to secure a replacement first.
Red Bull Leipzig’s Josko Gvardiol has been mentioned as a possible replacement for the Dutch international – but is likely too expensive this to secure this window.
The Blues could be on the verge of a double signing from the Etihad – having also agreed a £50million deal for England international Raheem Sterling.
Thomas Tuchel’s side are hopeful in securing a deal for Ake, Pep Guardiola’s fourth-choice central defender, after the departures of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen.
Despite not being a regular in the starting eleven for at the Etihad, the Premier League champions would hope to secure a replacement before the 27-year-old’s departure.
Leipzig’s Gvardiol leads the Citizen’s transfer targets – but a move this year is unlikely with the Croatian set to agree a new deal with the Bundesliga side.
Chelsea are already closing in one on signing from City, with Sterling understood to have negotiated a five-year contract worth significantly more than his existing £300,000 a week.
New Chelsea chairman Todd Boehly has been working hard on landing new faces for manager Thomas Tuchel and is believed to have reached a resolution with the 27-year-old Ake’s representatives.
City, however, will want market value for a popular member of Guardiola’s squad and quoted Newcastle £50m for the defender earlier in the summer.
Ake re-signing for Chelsea, where he struggled for game time at the start of his career, would take City’s sales significantly beyond the £150m mark this summer given Sterling’s impending switch and Gabriel Jesus moving to Arsenal.
