Man City set €25m asking price for Barcelona target

Barcelona are hoping to sign a central defender during the winter transfer window, which opens for business next week. Andreas Christensen’s long-term ACL injury, coupled with uncertainty surrounding Ronald Araujo, has left Hansi Flick with few options for the position, which is why an immediate solution is being sought.

Barcelona hope to sign a big name in the summer, but as for January, the intention is to find a short-term solution. Either a loan or a cheap deal would be the priority for sporting director Deco, whose search has taken him to the Premier League.

In recent days, Manchester City’s Nathan Ake has been offered to Barcelona, with the Netherlands international currently out of favour for Pep Guardiola. The player himself would be open to the move, but the chances of a deal being done are looking rather slim.

According to Sport, Man City are reluctant to let Ake leave mid-season, despite his lack of prominence at the Etihad Stadium. No loan offers would be considered, and it would take €25m to get a transfer over the line, which would be a high price for a player whose contract expires in 18 months’ time.

Barcelona could not explore deal under these conditions

Understandably, these numbers do not suit Barcelona, who currently cannot afford to splash out €25m on a player. They would not make a move for Ake under these conditions, although they will continue to keep tabs on his situation, in the hope that Man City relax their stance as January goes on.

It will be interesting to see how Barcelona’s centre-back search goes. Ake would be a good option for their current needs, but it would make sense if only a loan were to be considered, given that money needs to be saved for the summer – when big signings are planned.