Chelsea weighing up move for Manchester City defender Nathan Ake

Chelsea have turned their sights on Manchester City defender Nathan Ake as a potential transfer target, according to Sky Sports.

The 27-year-old becomes the second Manchester City star linked with the Blues, who are also interested in English forward Raheem Sterling.

While Chelsea have endured a relatively dull transfer window, they are expected to make a foray into the market sooner or later.

17 days after the opening of the transfer window, Thomas Tuchel’s side are yet to confirm any signings, raising eyebrows amongst the fan base.

Perhaps their uncharacteristic lethargy has been owing to the change of ownership at the club and a change of personnel as Bruce Buck and Marina Granovskaia have left in recent weeks, with Todd Boehly taking on the bulk of responsibilities around transfers.

The defensive department is one key area needing plugging following the departures of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen to Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively.

Names like Jules Kounde, Kalidou Koulibaly and Juventus’ Matthijs de Ligt have been linked with the London outfit as they look to bolster their squad ahead of the new campaign.

However, reports claim Chelsea are weighing up a move for Netherlands centre-back Nathan Ake as they dive in for reinforcements.

The 27-year-old completed a surprise £41 million move to Manchester City from Bournemouth back in 2020 after the Blues opted not to exercise their buyback clause.

The former Chelsea defender has seen playing time limited at the Etihad, falling below Ruben Dias and Aymeric Laporte in the pecking order at the club.

A left-footed centre-back who could also comfortably fill in on the left side of the back three, Ake fits the bill for Tuchel’s side, who are keen on replacing Rudiger.

The Manchester City man could also be tempted to jump ship this summer in search of regular game time ahead of the forthcoming World Cup.

Ake, who has three years left on his contract, made just 19 starts across all competitions for the Cityzens last season, with 10 coming in the Premier League.