Everton could reignite their interest in Nathan Ake this summer – and the Toffees wouldn’t go far wrong if they did.
David Moyes is after bolstering his pool of centre-back options this summer.
Michael Keane will stick around after he signed an extension. But he is not a long term option and neither is James Tarkowski.
Would you like to see Everton sign Nathan Ake this summer? 🔥
Moyes would love his versatility in defence! 👏
Jarrad Branthwaite’s inability to stay fit for a whole season is also a lingering concern.
In recent days, Everton have been linked with Ake again (via TEAMtalk), after the club were first credited with an interest last summer.
And quite simply, it’s a move Everton should indeed be pursuing.
Nathan Ake is the ideal signing for Everton
Ake may not have always been a regular starter at Manchester City. But you don’t stick around there for six years – under arguably the greatest manager of all time – if you don’t have something about you.
Ake has made 174 appearances for City, and won four Premier League titles as well as a raft of other trophies including the Champions League. Naturally, that will have shaped his mentality into a winning one.
The Dutchman can play centre-back and left-back, and that versatility would be most helpful – and something Moyes would surely value highly.
He’s not the quickest, but Ake is robust and is actually very good in the air for a defender who isn’t a giant at 5ft 11in.
He is also extremely tidy on the ball, as evidenced by a pass accuracy of 91.3% across all competitions this season (via WhoScored). This is higher than all four of Everton’s current centre-backs and Vitalii Mykolenko.
Ake has long been in the Premier League and knows what it takes to succeed in the league, and that experience could be really handy in the Everton dressing room.
And then we come to his character.
Jack Grealish has previously hailed Ake, saying he was ‘so strong defensively’ but also that he is ‘one of the nicest guys I have ever met in football and doesn’t have one bad bone in his body’.
The Athletic also published an interesting report about Ake at the time of his move to City.
They said a source at Bournemouth revealed that Ake was ‘the best player they’ve ever had, as well as a humble, brilliant guy’. And ‘others say he is a model pro, and incredibly popular with his teammates’.
And Ake has always been a leader, with The Athletic even adding that at Chelsea, ‘he was the first to take on a leadership programme and mentor the club’s youngsters, despite being at the start of his own career’.
How would you have the side lined up if you were David Moyes? 🤩
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There’s one blemish with Ake
There are many things about Ake that suggest he could be a really handy signing this summer for Everton.
He also won’t be too costly, because he’ll only have one year left on his contract at City.
There is just one slight potential concern – and that’s his injury record.
| Nathan Ake for Man City |
| Appearances – 174 |
| Goals – 10 |
| Assists – 3 |
| Trophies – 11 |
A number of muscle injuries saw him miss over 10 games last season, before he actually then had foot surgery which ruled him out for nearly three months towards the end of the campaign.
Looking at his record over the years, his most common issue appears to be the hamstring, of which he’s had at least seven injuries.
But the good news is that he has been injury-free for the whole of 2025/26, which might encourage Everton to put aside any worries they have.
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