Liverpool must bid for exciting half-price star Nathan Ake.
The Telegraph’s Matt Law reported that Bournemouth are in a desperate situation after their relegation and will need to sell their best players.
Former Chelsea starlet Nathan Ake has a buy-back clause inserted in his contract but it’s unlikely the Cherries will recoup the £40 million it would take for the Blues to automatically trigger a sale.
The defender is one of the side’s highest earners and doesn’t have a relegation clause in his contract, which means Bournemouth can no longer afford to keep the Dutchman.
Law wrote that Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United are interested in Ake – and Liverpool should be, too. He also wrote that the player would be available for around £25 million, which is an extremely attractive price.
Sporting director Michael Edwards is always looking for the next big bargain. He landed one in January in the form of Takumi Minamino and should be considering Bournemouth’s man.
Dejan Lovren’s departure leaves the senior squad with just three central defenders, two of whom are injury prone. Ake has missed 14 games due to injury in his whole career, while the hamstring strain he suffered this season was his first for five years.
With 146 Premier League games under his belt, the 25-year-old is the perfect mix of experience and potential. Jurgen Klopp would back himself to squeeze improvements out of the player, who has 11 international caps but has never played in a senior European competition.
A deal worth £20 million is surely affordable given Liverpool just raised half of that with the sale of Lovren to Zenit St. Petersberg and have removed Adam Lallana and Nathaniel Clyne from their books.
It would also negate the need to make speculative passes in the transfer market, especially as one 33-year-old free agent has been talked about as a good deal.
The signing of Ake would also rob Liverpool’s nearest rivals of someone who could come in and improve their chronic defences. This shouldn’t be the main motivation for signing anyone, but it would be the cherry on the cake.