Manchester United beat Bournemouth 5-2 at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon in the Premier League, which saw United get the best out of Bruno Fernandes, Mason Greenwood, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial, as well as Paul Pogba, who was not on the scoresheet. However, after that result, a mere conversation seems to have caused speculation.
United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was speaking to Bournemouth central defender Nathan Ake after the match with speculation suggesting that the Norwegian told the former Chelsea academy star the following: “We need a left-footed centre-back, so keep going.” It could well be that Solskjaer was impressed with the player and would like to sign him.
However, it might have been a friendly conversation between a manager and a player, which effectively means nothing. Ake is a talented player and has a good career ahead of him aged just 25. This season, Ake has made a total of 28 appearances for Bournemouth, scoring twice and assisting twice more. As a left footed defender, he could be an option.
Now, speculation is something that is either built on something or nothing. It is clear that Victor Lindelof is not a secure option at the back and Eric Bailly, despite starting well at the club, has not done well of late and does not seem to be trusted all that much, even being linked with a move away from the club, albeit on loan.
Solskjaer does need another defender at the club in order to secure the backline as the addition of Harry Maguire and Aaron Wan-Bissaka last summer has gone a long way to do that, but United need more. Could Ake be an option for Solskjaer this summer? Would Bournemouth ask for a lot of money for the player? Would the player be happy to leave?
Ake, 25, has a contract at Bournemouth that expires in the summer of 2022 and with the club in the relegation zone in the Premier League at this moment in time, and seemingly looking like a club that will go down with Brighton and Hove Albion rising up the table and West Ham United creating a four point buffer, it does not look good.
