Nathan Ake might be departing Manchester City this summer, leaving Ruben Dias, Aymeric Laporte, and John Stones as Pep Guardiola’s options at center defense. The 27-year-old will need to be replaced because Chelsea has been linked to him, therefore City has been searching the transfer market for defenders.
Jules Kounde is the newest name on Mundo Deportivo‘s shortlist, according to them. In 2019, the 23-year-old signed a five-year contract to join Sevilla from Girondins Bordeaux. Since then, he has made 133 appearances in all competitions, with nine goals and three assists.
He won’t come cheap, however, with Fabrizio Romano saying days ago that Sevilla wants £65m for the French international. Kounde is a talented defender who helped his club pick up 15 clean sheets from 32 La Liga appearances last season, so he would improve City’s squad.
But it remains to be seen whether he’s the player Guardiola wants to replace Ake with. Juventus’ Matthijs De Ligt is also on City’s radar, so it’s up in the air which center-back the Premier League champions will end up with if Ake is sold.
