Manchester United and Chelsea decided not to sign Manchester City new player Nathan Ake due to doubts about his lack of physicality.
25-year-old Nathan Ake completed a £41m transfer to the Etihad on Wednesday, signing a five-year deal with the club.
City moved quickly to sign Ake after Bournemouth’s relegation and they made a bid £41m as a clause in Ake’s contract allowed Chelsea to re-sign him for a £40m.
Chelsea had a 72-hour window to meet City’s bid but they chose not to do so due to the doubts about his height and strength, the Athletic claims.
Frank Lampard wants to sign a centre-back after Chelsea conceded 54 goals in the Premier League but the blues were not convinced that Ake was the right player as they feel he is not good enough in the air.
United too had concerns about Ake’s physicality and felt that he did not have enough impact on Bournemouth’s poor defence in recent years.
United held talks with Ake but decided that the former Chelsea player was not their priority this summer window
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Solskjaer wants a centre-back partner for Harry Maguire that will allow him to play a higher line next campaign.
But, Sky sports claims much of Solskjaer’s transfer budget was devoted to the chase for Jadon Sancho – and they needed to raise more funds before they could make a bid for Ake.
And attempts to sell Marcus Rojo have proved unsuccessful. The Argentine defender has not played a Premier League match for United since November.
Manchester City, of course, will be unperturbed as it gave them a clear race to sign the Netherlands international.
