Chelsea are considering a move to sign Nathan Ake from Manchester City with the defender understood to be ‘highly rated’ by Thomas Tuchel.
Tuchel is in search of defensive reinforcements following the exits of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen this summer, with the west Londoners considering a host of centre-back targets.
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Matthijs de Ligt is understood to be Chelsea‘s number one transfer target, though the Blues are waiting to see if the defender extends his contract at Juventus before making their move.
Jules Kounde also remains on the club’s radar after failed talks for the Sevilla centre-back last summer, whilst Fabrizio Romano is reporting that Tuchel remains keen on Ake.
The Dutch international has struggled to command an automatic role at Manchester City and made just ten league starts for the Premier League champions last season.
The 27-year-old signed for Chelsea as a teenager but made just seven senior appearances before leaving for Bournemouth in a £20m in 2017. Chelsea inserted a buy-back option into that sale, but failed to exercise the option before Ake’s move to City in 2020.
Ake – who is comfortable centrally or at full-back – could provide a natural left-footed replacement for Rudiger, who often occupied the left-hand side of Tuchel’s preferred back-three system.
Aside from Ake, Chelsea have also been linked with his City teammate, Raheem Sterling.
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