Nathan Ake

[Gray]

What's happening with Stones?

Needs a shrink probably.

 

[OliMCFC]

He is a red **** who pretends he is in the know.

A red shite who's certainly got far more insight into the club than most of our supposed 'ITK's on here.

 

[MCFCFanTX]

Initially I wasn't convinced whether Ake was the right option. This was my opinion from last year when we were first linked to about last month. Tbh, I made that judgement without properly studying Ake's game.

What I see with Ake are a lot of positives, actually. Sure, Bournemouth's defense has not been good and they have conceded a lot. The thing is that they would have conceded a ton more if not for Ake.

I've interacted with a few Bournemouth fans on Twitter (I know) and they all say that he's by far the best player on that team, true gentleman and leader as well.

As for what he can bring to City and why this is a fine potential transfer:
- Left footed
- Entering his prime
- Great recovery speed
- Good pace for a CB
- Disciplined
- Concentration
- Great open play ability
- Versatile
- Homegrown (?)

His big negative is that he has very poor aerial ability and would be a liability in set pieces.

But I feel the pros outweigh the cons heavily. His open play / build up ability will benefit us when Laporte needs a break. He offers recovery pace which is very important in a high line defensive system like ours. He offers positional versatility between LB and LCB.

Maybe we overpaid by 10M quid or so but if this goes through, I'd be pretty happy with Ake. I think he fills a lot of needs for us.

 

[domalino]

No but tall players overall. I think height is super important to have as a central defender. That’s the only concern I have. He looks quality.

What tall players?

Seriously, look around the league. How many strikers are 6ft 4 these days?

 

[blueparrot]

I can see him being our first choice LB.

Can see him rotating quite heavily with Mendy, depending on whether we are using overlapping or inverted left back.

 

[Jumanji]

How often do you expect him to be in a duel with van Dijk?

You put Rodri or Laporte on Van Dijk when defending that set piece....

 

[Scottyboi]

Why would you want to ship out Garcia?

I don't think he will be first choice next season and with a year left is looking like he is barca bound, we will see doesn't seem fast enough to me.

 

[ancoats]

great signing for balance on the left and can play left back so bonus

 

[bluemoon32]

Good signing, think he'll be one of those players who really grows playing in a better team.

 

[skyblues]

What tall players?

Premier League is filled with big and physical players. Aké is great but maybe not a rock like Koulibaly. We concede a lot on set-pieces and corners. I hope Aké is enough in these situations.