Nathan Aké could be available for half price in Bournemouth relegation fire sale — report

Former Chelsea prospect Nathan Aké may not be our outright first choice to reinforce the centre back position this summer, but he would surely be useful especially if available for the right price. The 25-year-old was linked again just recently to Chelsea, and while there’s a lack of clarity over whether our buy-back clause is still valid, it appears that he may be on the move anyway, and for far less than a £40m buy-back.

According to the Telegraph, after getting relegated from the Premier League on the final matchday, Bournemouth face some tough decisions in order to avoid a financial crisis. While some players do have “relegation clauses” in their contracts — wherein a player’s salary gets reduced substantially if his club gets relegated — Aké’s contract apparently has no such proviso. This coupled with the fact that he is Bournemouth’s most valuable player makes it even more imperative that they cash in.

Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City are all looking for defensive help this summer, and thus all three are said to have expressed interest already. While Bournemouth would have loved to get something close to the aforementioned £40m, now they might have to settle for something like £25m.

Bournemouth are circling a financial black hole, with their wage-to-turnover ratio at an unsustainable 84.6%. The club’s player registration costs led to an overall loss of £32.4m last season and they owe £81m to other clubs for past transfers while only £5m is owed to them.

With the club in such a grave situation, not to mention the player’s own personal desire and ability, Aké is almost certain to stay in th Premier League. Whether Chelsea make a move is a bit less certain, but Aké remains a very good option to strengthen one of our positions of need.