Pep Guardiola faces Man City defensive dilemma with Nathan Ake transfer news

Not content with pursuing just Raheem Sterling, Chelsea appear to be plotting a double swoop of Manchester City stars this summer.

It appears that City centre-back Nathan Ake is high on Chelsea's wishlist, as Thomas Tuchel looks to rebuild his defence after a handful of departures. However, MEN Sport understands that, although Pep Guardiola has a general rule that players that wish to leave will be allowed to if they present an acceptable offer from another club, the Blues would not countenance letting the Dutch defender leave without both getting at least £50m for him and knowing that they can sign a replacement this transfer window.

Since arriving from Bournemouth for £41m in 2020, Ake has endured a difficult time in Manchester, a combination of injuries and patchy form preventing him from staking a convincing claim to a starting centre-back spot.

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He is comfortably Guardiola's fourth choice central defender, with Ruben Dias, Aymeric Laporte and John Stones above him in the pecking order. Only in the second half of the 2021/22 campaign — when a string of injuries and suspensions decimated City's defensive options — did the 27-year-old get regular minutes on the pitch.

Five of his 14 Premier League appearances came in the final nine outings of the season, while he also put in heroic performances in both legs of the Champions League quarter-final tie against Atletico Madrid.

Ake is believed to be open to moving to Stamford Bridge. Understandably he wants to play more, and feels like he has a better chance to do that at the club where he began his career. It may seem odd that a club with the ambitions of Chelsea are