90min

Manchester City Drop Nicolás Otamendi Asking Price After Nathan Aké Signing

By Tom Gott

Man City are ready to offload Nicolas Otamendi
Man City are ready to offload Nicolas Otamendi / Quality Sport Images/Getty Images
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Manchester City are again ready to lower their asking price for centre-back Nicolás Otamendi following the arrival of Dutchman Nathan Aké from Bournemouth.

Pep Guardiola moved quickly after the Cherries' relegation to land Aké in a £41m deal, pushing Otamendi even further down the pecking order at the Etihad Stadium. The Argentine started 18 Premier League games this season and looks set for a reduced role if he stays.

With City still on the lookout for another centre-back, all the signs suggest that Otamendi's time at the club is coming to an end, and The Sun state that City would now listen to offers of around £8m for the 32-year-old.

That's almost half of the £15m which Napoli were quoted earlier this summer, with City now eager to get his £100,000-a-week wages off the books to reinvest in other signings.

Valencia are understood to be leading the race to re-sign Otamendi, who spent one year at the club before moving to City for £32m in 2017.

Otamendi has tumbled down the pecking order at the Etihad
Otamendi has tumbled down the pecking order at the Etihad / Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

There could be somewhat of a centre-back exodus at the Etihad Stadium this summer. Alongside Otamendi, John Stones could be shown the exit door, while young Eric García looks set to try and force through his own move to Barcelona after rejecting a new contract.

ESPN state that Barcelona have decided they will not exceed £13.4m to sign García this summer, despite City valuing the 19-year-old at close to twice that figure. Barça know that he will be available for free next summer when his contract expires and they are not prepared to be bullied.

Selling all three would leave City needing to find a whole host of new defenders as Guardiola would be left with just Aké and Aymeric Laporte, with midfielder Fernandinho also capable of filling in when needed.

Sevilla's Diego Carlos and Napoli's Kalidou Koulibaly have both been linked with expensive moves to the Etihad this summer, while Benfica's Rúben Dias and Villarreal's Pau Torres are both on the club's radar as well.

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