The transfer window is thriving yet again this off season. Things started off with a bang as Premier League champions Manchester City secured the signature of the hottest striker in the world, Erling Haaland. Never to be outdone, perennial Premier League bridesmaids Liverpool returned serve with the signature of Darwin Nunez for a club record £85 million.
Although the big two in the Premier League have since wrapped up their transfer window business, there is still plenty of movement in the market.
Chelsea are closing on Raheem Sterling deal with Man City, waiting for final approval on £45m fee plus add ons – while negotiations are still ongoing with City for Nathan Aké. ? #CFC
Aké, keen on the move. Personal terms 100% agreed as reported yesterday.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 9, 2022
Tottenham and Arsenal are spending serious sums of cash hoping to close the gap to the top of the league. Transfer window highlights for Spurs include signing Ivan Perisic. They are also on the verge of signing Barcelona center back Clement Lenglet. Fierce rivals Arsenal signed Brazilian striker Gabriel Jesus, who had a tremendous debut in a friendly against the German side Nurnberg. The former Man City man bagged a brace in his Gunners debut.
Today we are going to focus on Chelsea. The Pensioners are under new ownership after their longtime association with Roman Abramovich ended. They are now owned by a consortium headed by Todd Boehly.
Boehly has appointed himself sporting director, tasking himself with conducting the transfer business at Stamford Bridge. The jury is out regarding whether he has bitten off more than he can chew. Earlier this week, he completed the sensational signing of Raheem Sterling from Manchester City.
Reports have also linked the club with Neymar, Ousmane Dembele and Cristiano Ronaldo at different times this summer, all attacking options. Therein lies the problem. Chelsea are threadbare in defense and that is where they should be focusing.
Thankfully for Chelsea fans, Boehly’s attention has turned to defense with the latest name linked with the club.
Nathan Ake
Reports have emerged out of West London claiming Chelsea has agreed on personal terms with the Dutch defender. If these reports are to be believed, all that is left is for Chelsea and City to agree on a fee for the player. I gave these reports some credibility when transfer guru Fabrizio Romano confirmed them on Twitter. He would claim that City is looking for between £40-45 million for the player.
The price tag has raised eyebrows in some quarters. Some Chelsea fans don’t see Ake as a significant upgrade of the club’s options in the academy.
The Dutch center back hasn’t exactly set the world on fire at City.
Since moving to City in August 2020 for £45 million from Bournemouth, Ake has made just 40 appearances for Pep Guardiola’s outfit. He would only make 14 league appearances for City in the 21/22 season despite remaining injury free, mostly. Ake has ridden the bench more often than not during his City career.
The one saving grace is that Pep Guardiola thought enough of him to purchase him. The Blues must have this in mind as they try to close this deal to rebuild their defense.
MY TWO CENTS – LIKELIHOOD 99%
When Fabrizio Romano, the transfer guru himself, takes the time to write a tweet about it, it is just about a done deal.
I think Nathan Ake will relish a new start. Also, he will probably gain some confidence that he is the first player through the door for Chelsea’s defensive rebuild. Whether he can step up to another level is no sure thing. So, with that in mind, it is a potentially risky piece of business by the Blues.
I am going to reserve my judgment on this one.
Stuart Kavanagh is a sports journalist from Melbourne, Australia. Along with being the owner of the sports and entertainment website thepyrrhic.com, he is the co-host of the ‘After Extra Time’ podcast. Football mad, he is always down for debate and discussion at @stueyissickofit on Twitter.