Manchester City are reportedly facing interest in Nathan Ake from West Ham, and they could use it to their advantage in the race to sign Declan Rice.
According to 90min, West Ham are keen to sign Ake from City on an initial loan for the second half of this season, with the view to a permanent transfer at the end of it.
Ake could be a useful signing to give the Hammers more depth at the back, and he’s not played a lot of football for City, so it’s easy to imagine he’d be tempted to leave and that this move could suit all involved.
The report notes that City might also be tempted to see if this can give them the chance to strike up a future deal to sign Rice from West Ham as the England international is one of their summer targets.
Pep Guardiola could probably do with Rice as an ideal long-term replacement for veteran defensive midfielder Fernandinho, but Manchester United won’t want to miss out.
Rice has been linked with Man Utd by the Independent, and there’s clearly the need for a player like him after this nightmare season at Old Trafford.
Fred has looked a particular weak link in United’s midfield and there’s surely no doubt that it would be worth a big investment in a player like Rice to come in as an upgrade.
Still, if City can move into a strong position here, it would surely be a no-brainer for Rice to move to the blue half of Manchester over the red half given the teams’ respective trajectories at the moment.
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